Circa Mundi
by A Diabolical Angel
Summary: It's years after the War and everyone seems quite content of their day to day life. Harry and Ginny are expecting, Ron is touring the world Quidditch cup after Quidditch cup, and Hermione is … Actually, where is Hermione this month? *Set 8 years after end of war, Dramione*
1. Chapter 1

**LONG Authors' note** : This plot has been floating in my head for these past few months, and I haven't actively written any fanfiction since at least three years, ten years since my last publish on this website.

I deeply appreciate any comment, good or bad, because I think any author who respects himself wants the criticism to get better in any way possible.

It is very possible some characters might seem OOC or have tendencies, which I think is normal in a fanfiction community, as this is my depiction of a possible dimension that I think could exist, in which some of JK's characters could get along. If you feel too much OOC, please comment in the review section below and I will try to do my best to keep readers as happy as possible

Also, whoever would like to throw some plot bunnies at me after some chapters, I do not promise anything but always appreciate authors who can work with their reads, so I am willing to try and incorporate some of our ideas! However, some chapters are obviously written in advance, so again, I will try my best.

Happy reading!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Harry sat comfortably in his favorite living room chair, in the corner of one of many sitting rooms in Grimmauld Place. Ginny and he had moved in few months after the end of the wizarding war and like many other witches and wizards of their society, decided to undergo some renovations in the house.

The whole of wizarding London had been touched in one way or the other, people either mentally or physically scarred. Many shops had been burned to the ground or simply vanished when the days leading of the final battle had been raging with duels after duels popping up everywhere. After the final battle, when Harry had met with Voldemort in the ultimate duel that had resulted in the side of the light winning, many Deatheaters had been captured and put away in Azkaban, leaving the rest of the Wizarding community to clean up after their disaster. During the days, weeks and months following the event, uncommon friendships had been formed, while other relationships had been put to an end.

Harry had naturally declared his love for Ginny and had even come down on one knee to ask her the question every woman wants to hear once in her lifetime. Obviously, Ginny had accepted but the two had settled for a long engagement and had only been married for the past year.

Hermione and Ron had gone out on a few dates following the Great Battle, however they both soon realized they were meant to be only friends. Both of them had come to the conclusion and they settled for a close friendship, uniting the Golden Trio as close as ever. Ron had gone on to the tryouts for the Chuddley Cannons, however did not get to the final cut. After a year of intense training and some few inter-city matches, he was finally recruited by the Holyhead Harpies and vowed to take down as many Cannons as he could.

Harry had returned to Hogwarts, as few other students did, to complete his seventh year. He formed new alliances and friendships, some 6th now 7th years also, and went on to enroll in Auror Training. After Kingsley had been appointed Minister for Magic, he had personally recommended Harry getting position as Head Auror, however Harry himself declined, explaining he wanted to do it the usual way and climb up the ladder. He ended up having the position only four years later though.

Ginny had also finished her schooling at Hogwarts and took up the position for Assistant Quidditch Professor, as Madam Hooch wished to retire soon. It was three years later she was finally offered the full-time position from Headmistress McGonagall.

As for Hermione, the last time Harry had seen her had been over –

"HARRY, CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THE BOXES! MY FEET ARE KILLING ME," Harry was scrambled from his reminiscing thoughts as Ginny's piercing voice echoed throughout the house. After a roll of the eyes, he got up from his favorite lounging chair and made his way to the front entrance.

Ginny was currently seven months pregnant and bearing new life. She was also unbearable to be with if she didn't have her afternoon nap, which Harry learned after three months of pregnancy, and her feet had swelled twice their usual side. Don't get the wizard wrong, he loved his witch, although Harry was very anxious for his new baby to be out of her mother's womb because she had even less patience while pregnant.

"Don't get your knickers twisted woman, I'm on my way," he replied rounding the corner and coming face to face with his beaming wife.

"I swear to merlin, not only did my idiot brother have to delay our shopping, he had to leave earlier because he forgot he had a conference call for the United States International Quidditch Cup this afternoon. I am going to wring his neck when he comes back," said Ginny angrily as she pointed out the boxes which needed to be moved upstairs.

She had gone on a last-minute shopping trip with Ron, hoping to buy the last of the baby furniture and clothing they were missing. Harry had suggested she wait, as their baby shower was coming up soon, but Ginny's mind was set on buying her own furniture, in case she received gifts she didn't like. She wanted everything to be perfect for their newborn.

"I hope he confirmed he would be there for the Shower?" asked Harry.

"Yes, and believe me, he won't have a head if he doesn't show. Speaking of the Shower, have you had some news from Hermione lately? She did say she would be in town for it!"

Harry frowned. He hadn't seen the other third of the Golden Trio for a few weeks now. Always busy with work, Hermione was travelling the globe doing –

As Harry opened his mouth to reply, the fireplace roared to life and a tall figure emerged after a few seconds.

"Zabini, I didn't know we were expecting you so early?" exclaimed Ginny as she looked toward the fireplace.

"I know, I know, I just wanted to be sure to have every detail set for next week. I will never repeat this in public, but I can't help but to be nervous. The students are coming back and I'll be alone for the first time for the start of classes. I want to be prepared," the tall dark-haired man replied as he brushed off soot from his robes.

Harry raised his eyebrow followed by a shake of the head and a small smile. Ginny rolled her eyes and helped Blaise take off his robes as she invited him to follow her to the study.

"I'll call you two when supper is ready!" called Harry to the two retreating forms.

Blaise Zabini had been a surprising new addition to their group of friends. As his family had never been in the frontline, not actively participating in the War, he was one of the students that had never been prejudiced and the repeat of the seventh year had been proof of that. He hadn't even waited a week to approach the other houses to extend his excuses for earlier bad attitude and formed some new friendships. As Blaise had always been over-excited and enthusiastic about Quidditch, it was a sunny Friday afternoon that Harry, Ginny, and some other students hosted a friendly Quidditch match and Blaise had had a lengthy conversation with Ginny, debating about a certain point during said match afterwards. The rest was history, but as of now, Blaise would be the one to take Ginny's spot for the next school year, as she took a sabbatical year to spend time with her newborn.

Two hours later, a hungry seven-month pregnant woman and bag-eyed man burst through the kitchen, surprising Harry as he was putting the last of the plates on the table. The couple had invited Zabini for their usual Saturday night supper and they were to overview the last of details before the school year resumed and Zabini would take complete ownership of Ginny's position as Quidditch professor.

"So how's Pansy doing?" Ginny small talked as she filled her plate.

"She's well. I invited her to the shower as you proposed last week, and she gladly accepted the invitation."

"You sure you want her to come to a baby shower Zabini? Those are plans for her to ask you about getting serious and talking about a child now," laughed Harry as he ate.

"Shut up Potter," Blaise replied as he threw a small spoonful of food at him.

"Boys !"

"Sorry Gin. But seriously, when in Merlin's name are you going to give her the ring?" asked Harry.

Blaise looked down at his plate and didn't reply. Harry and Ginny's eyes met for a few seconds.

Blaise and Pansy had been dating for two years now. They had always been close friends since childhood, but it was only recently Blaise had realized he wanted Pansy for his own. It was after the Slytherin witch went out on a bad date and come back crying to her friend that both had finally accepted they had feelings towards the other and had decided to take things slow, eventually leading up to a relationship. Blaise had bought her a wedding ring a few weeks back and always busted Harry and Ginny's ears about finding the courage to ask her.

Waiting for Blaise to answer, Ginny sighed loudly and urged him to answer, "So?"

He looked up from his plate with a sly grin and raised his right eyebrow. Harry's mouth dropped open and Ginny exclaimed her surprise.

"YOU ASKED HER AND DIDN'T TELL US!" screeched Ginny as she herself threw some food at Blaise. Harry laughed and Blaise wiped some homemade potatoes off his cheek.

"Hormones, Weasley, hormones," replied Blaise coolly as he kept eating. "Naturally, she accepted, but we haven't told you because we've been fucking for the past two days."

"Too much info Zabini," whispered Harry as he made a fake gagging gesture.

"Anyways, before, I had a witch to keep happy, now I have a fiancé to keep happy. And if the way to keep her happy is that she has my cock in her-"

"BLAISE!" screamed Ginny again. "Dear Merlin, I'm going to buy you a swear jar before my child is born or you will not have a tongue anymore!"

The two men laughed heartily as they finally finished eating their supper. Blaise retold them the story of how he proposed to the now-soon-to-be Mrs. Zabini and the three kept on talking for a few more hours, eventually moving to the sitting room before Blaise retired for the night.

As the house was clean after the visit of their friend some few minutes after his leave, Ginny and Harry made their way to their bedroom to retire for the night. Ginny's thoughts were on her baby furniture and the possible color of the baby's room they would be painting next week, and Harry's were on his brunette best friend, hoping she would be able to make some time and be present for a while to at least attend their baby shower.

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><p>Two days later found Grimmauld Place bursting of life and energy. The Potters had been welcoming their first guests since 2pm and their close friends and family had all come in, everyone shortly arriving after the other.<p>

As Ginny was going around the room and enjoying all the attention that was being put on her, Harry, Ron and Blaise were off to one corner of the sitting room and enjoying a glass of fire whiskey. Blaise had snuck in a bottle of the finest fire whiskey he had in his stash, giving reason to Harry that not only should the baby and mother be showered, but also soon-to-be father. After the three men laughed heartily at Blaise's excuse, they had proceeded to savor the fine liquor and reminisce about old Hogwarts days.

After receiving a Howler from his sister, Ron had been sure to clear his schedule and had confirmed to Ginny he would be present to the shower, even probably sleeping over and volunteering to help clean up after the whole visit would be gone. Happily, Ron had finally found a bit of maturity over the years, although it seemed to evaporate as soon as he was flanked by some masculine friends of his by his side.

At the moment, Ron was excitedly talking about his call two days ago, spent organizing the United States International Quidditch Cup. He went into detail with the boys, explaining that every country had to participate in the Opening Ceremonies, something that was apparently very strong in the Western continent. Ron's team had prepared a number that would contain the equivalent of a patronus-like form of fireworks, based on his team's name. Each player would shoot out their wand to the sky and emit a soft glow that would give out mermaid looking women playing harps and other small wind instruments. The mermaids would finish their opening number by circling around cannons at the bottom of the Quidditch field and making them explode into dust as they swirled around it.

As Ron launched into his very detailed explanation of the other countries' numbers, Harry looked up to see his very pregnant wife making her way towards the crowd with her brows knotted together. As she joined the group and kissed Harry on the cheeked, she looked towards the boys.

"Have any of you seen Hermione yet? She sent me an owl this morning telling me she would try to make it before dessert was served," she asked.

Ron and Harry looked at each other sadly and Ginny frowned upon seeing their reaction.

"Where is the Golden Girl anyways these days? I haven't seen her in ages," said Blaise.

"Last time I heard, she was in the northern part of Egypt conducting some-" started Ron. His answer was cut short as the fireplace bellowed with activity. The people closest to the fireplace moved aside and Ginny beamed happily at the fireplace, expecting to see her best friend coming in.

As the fire died down and a figured emerged from the cloud of dust, Ginny let out a loud sigh of deceit. Not only was the new visitor not her best friend, he was also in the form of a tall blonde Slytherin wizard.

"Malfoy, about time you graced us with your presence!" loudly exclaimed Blaise as he stepped closer to the fireplace to greet his lifelong friend. Harry chuckled and Ron rolled his eyes.

Malfoy nodded to the two Gryffindors and stepped forward to give Ginny a kiss on the cheek. "Here's your present, Weaselette," he grinned.

"Old habits die hard, don't they Draco?" answered Ginny with a smile as she thanked him and excused herself as she joined the other women in the kitchen, where the rest of her gifts sat.

As Ginny made her way to the other part of the house, Draco stepped closer to Blaise to embrace him in a definitely masculine way. The dark-haired boy offered him a glass of fire whiskey, to which Draco couldn't refuse.

Malfoy had come a long way in the many years following the war. As his mother and him had been excused for their faults, his father Lucius unfortunately wasn't graced with such pardon. He had been sentenced though to a minimum of ten years in Azkaban with minimum security and open visiting hours, a privilege that not every Azkaban prisoner could brag about having.

As for Narcissa and Draco, they had been sentenced to serve the equivalent of muggle community hours for the whole of the wizarding community and had since then actively participated in the organizing of many events for all of Wizarding London. Draco had been reluctant at first but after much pushing from his mother, which of whom had never been thoroughly anchored into old Pureblood ways, he had opened up to few people and decided to grace the population of London with a bit of Malfoy charm and generosity.

Harry, Ron and Malfoy had met quite a few times since the War, and it had been over two years ago that they had decided to let go of past grudges. Blaise had unfortunately brought Draco along to some friend-related events and Harry and Ron had learned to tolerate the blonde. It seemed Ginny was the fastest of them all as for warming up to him. After a heated conversation regarding Ginny's Quidditch teaching skills, Draco had challenged her to letting him be a guest to one of her classes. After much success from that original class, the students had exclaimed their excitement and Ginny had since then invited some other famous Quidditch players once every few weeks, Malfoy being a regular. The two could be called close friends, but neither of them would admit to it, preferring to stick to their name-calling friendship and sarcastic bantering.

As the four men kept their conversation flowing, the women were starting to rally everyone to the main sitting room. Some of Harry and Ginny's close friend were all present, as was the whole of the Weasley family, but also some work acquaintances that the two of them had made throughout the years.

Neville Longbottom was present with his fiancée Luna Lovegood and currently, both of them were trying to shush out the many voices present in the room. Fortunately, Ginny had asked some help from McGonagall, whom was also present at the gathering, for her to be able to charm the room to be bigger, as to contain many more people than the couple was used to.

"Attention everyone, please- can everybody-" Neville coughed silently.

"Wizards, witches of all ages," butted in Luna.

"Can everyone just-" tried Neville again.

"OH, For the love of MERLIN," exclaimed Molly Weasley loudly as she pushed herself on a chair in the corner of the room she was in. She whistled quite intensely and the room quickly fell silent. A pin drop could be heard. She smiled and thanked everyone, raising an arm towards Neville's direction as she came down from her chair and into the arms of a chuckling Arthur Weasley.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," said Neville as he nodded his head gratefully towards the eldest Weasley female. He coughed again shyly as he realized all eyes were on him and Luna lovingly put her hand on her shoulder to encourage him. "I would like to personally congratulate Mr. and Mrs. Potter on their soon arriving miracle," screams and exclamations of joy were heard throughout the room. Harry turned red in the cheeks as Ginny beamed happily and squeezed his hand. "I would also like to take this time to thank them for everything they've ever done for me and certainly some of you present this evening. I don't think they realize it but sometimes, only being in their presence helps your mood and I don't know how they do it, but after any sort of conversation with the two, you always seem to be in a better mood, be it more courageous, more positively-looking at the world, or more loved than ever, for these two are probably the most caring people I've had the chance to meet in my lifetime."

Neville paused and many wizards and witches present shook their head in agreement while some clapped and other cheered.

Luna smiled at her fiancé and decided to pick up where he had left his speech. "In agreement with Nev, I wish to congratulate you both and wish you the best of times with your newborn, may he be as courageous as his father, as charming and beautiful as his mother, as full of love as his grand-parents," she inserted a wink directed at Harry, "and as loyal and smart as the whole of you." She made her way to Ginny to hug her as the red-head had tears in her eyes.

"And as prankster as his uncles!" could be heard, most probably from George at the rear of the crowd.

"And hopefully, should he inherit the black hair, and not the infamous Weasley red," exclaimed Blaise, who was closer to Harry than Ginny, thankfully. Ron slapped him upside the head as Harry rolled his eyes to him and gave him a firm handshake and a smile.

The rest of the evening consisted of more gift-giving, some desserts, lots of alcohol for the men, and many other speeches of congrats and/or best wishes to Ginny and Harry.

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><p>"I swear to Merlin, I thought they would never leave!" sighed Ginny as she fell down into one of the Adirondack chairs they had put on their balcony. Harry had been able to charm the backyard and enlarge the balcony so they would be able to welcome more than the usual four people. The couple had been happy with their small but welcoming home, once it had been redecorated that is, but also enjoyed having their group of friends over once in a while. The current set up was able to accommodate Blaise, Pansy and Ron on a swing set that was on one end of the balcony, and four other Adirondack chairs that were scrambled around a small fire pit that was just to the side of the swing. Draco and Harry were already occupying two of the chairs as Ginny was just finishing up the cleaning of the backyard. As she sat close to Harry's chair, they naturally entwined their hands together and cuddled their chairs closer to each other. Draco made a fake-gagging noise as Pansy laughed and Ron rolled his eyes.<p>

"Too much PDA guys," exclaimed Ron while taking a swig of his fire whiskey.

"You two men will understand true love when you'll find it," replied Ginny while squeezing Harry's hand.

"You just need to tap into your maturity a bit and stop sleeping around if you want to have a chance at actually finding it though," said Pansy with a nod of the head.

All of the guests from the baby shower had left and the group enjoyed some small end of the evening small talk as they relaxed for once.

"So Malfoy, what are you up to these days," asked Harry towards the blond man.

Draco took a deep breath before launching into detail about what project he was currently on.

"We just came back from India last week. Kingsley appointed my group to a special project they got around to closing and we're working on uncovering the mysteries concerning some Runes that were found near the Taj Mahal."

Ginny squeaked happily and asked him for more details.

"Well, apparently, the Runes were only discovered three years ago but the current muggle team working on the case has been unable to crack some sense into the meaning of it. India's Ministry had been informed via their half-blood contact and that's when the Indian Minister for Magic called into Europe for some old favor. Apparently, Kingsley and him have some history and he called upon the favor, so we've been at it for the past month, but no such luck as to cracking the code just yet."

Ron's face was currently scrunched up as he tried to keep up with the conversation, and Pansy and Blaise were listening in indifferently. They had been used to hearing Draco ramble about his work and being present whenever he would get heated in his complicated/intelligent rambles about his work. Ginny on the other side, had only taken interest in his work for the past months and had a bad habit of asking him what project he was working on. That was usually where the rest of the group lost interest and changed subjects.

"That seems really interesting Ferret, seriously, I'd like to see your work one day," said Ginny as she patted his shoulder. Draco nodded his accord and got up to fill his glass.

Harry snorted. "Honestly Malfoy, if we were in an alternate universe, I'd say you were a perfect match for Hermione. Both your brains rival each other and I'm pretty sure she's the only woman that could keep you grounded and well-trained!"

The reactions to Harry's response were not at all surprising. Pansy and Blaise laughed so hard that Pansy started coughing so much, Blaise had to conjure her a glass of water. Ginny's mouth fell open without so much as another reaction; she seemed to be frozen in time. Ron spit out the mouthful of fire whiskey he had just ingested. And Draco, his reaction was the best. He froze on the spot as if he had just been hexed and turned beet-red as he stared wide-eyed at Harry. Blaise only laughed harder when he noticed Draco's face.

"Potter. That has got to be the most ridicule proposition of all time," answered Draco when he seemed to finally come back to life.

"Over my dead body!" screamed Ron.

Ginny smiled and crossed eyes with Pansy, who lifted an eyebrow in return to the redhead. Ginny nodded her agreement and a silent conversation had passed between the two women.

"When you actually think about it, it isn't as farfetched as it seems," added Blaise to the already growing pandemonium among the group.

The girls' laughed again and Malfoy shook his head while looking up to the stars. The whole of the group was then startled by some noise coming from inside. Harry stood up quickly, directing his wand towards the door leading to the house, and the rest of them located their wands in case of immediate danger.

"I am SO so sorry Gin, I tried to make it as fast as I could, you know me, I just couldn't tear myself away from our discovery of the day! 600 year-old Runes, found in the cave of an ancient pyramid. Can you imagine the possibilities!," exclaimed a short brunette as the newcomer burst through the door.

"HERMIONE!" screamed Ginny as she launched herself towards he best friend.

"Oopmh," came out from Hermione as she received a mess of red hair in the face.

"Herms, you were able to come. That's great!" said Harry as he queued behind his wife for a hug.

"Granger, how you doin!" asked Blaise as he slowly got up from his chair.

Most of the group stood up to give Hermione their greetings but it seemed a reluctant blond was still frozen in shock at her arrival.

"The hell is this? Did you plan this?" Draco asked Harry angrily and he took another big swig of the fire whiskey bottle and sank to his chair disgracefully.

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><p><strong>Authors' note<strong>: I know I alternate a lot between men and boys, Malfoy and Draco, Zabini and Blaise, and that's without mentioning all the name-calling and friendly bickering, but in my universe, I think these people could one day be friends, in their unique kind of way !

Reviews are always appreciated if you have a few seconds


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note : Thank you to everyone who showed interest very early in this fanfiction. Your comments and 'favorites' delighted me to no end! Now on to the next chapter my friends.**

**Last chapter :**

_Most of the group stood up to give Hermione their greetings but it seemed a reluctant blond was still frozen in shock at her arrival._

"_The hell is this? Did you plan this?" Draco asked Harry angrily and he took another big swig of the fire whiskey bottle and sank to his chair disgracefully._

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

"Again Ginny, you'll have to excuse my lateness," said Hermione to her red-haired best friend as she hugged her. "After our discovery of the latest Runes, my team decided to celebrate and they dragged me to a bar. I had only a drink before I left. Wouldn't miss this for the world."

Ginny grinned at Hermione and took a step back, looking her up and down. "Egypt has done wonders for your skin my dear, come, have a drink with us."

Hermione smiled back and gave Ginny a tiny box she had been holding. "Couldn't very well forget my present to you, could I," she said as she turned her head a flashed a smile towards Harry as well.

After looking around and eyeing the group, Hermione made her way to the closest available chair. Said chair was conveniently located next to Malfoy. As she sat down, cracked her shoulders and neck, and made herself comfortable in the chair, Malfoy nodded to her.

"Granger," he acquiesced, without so much as a move of his head towards her.

"Malfoy," she replied as she finally turned her head and accepted the blond-haired git that had tormented her group throughout their school years was actually present at their gathering. _Has everyone else but me forgotten all those years? Anyways, as long as he's tolerable, I guess I can try and get along,_ she thought.

Ron was the one who noticed the awkward silence that followed Hermione and Draco's greetings and stood up to put more logs into the dying fire.

"Darn chilly weather we seem to be getting recently, eh. It seems that Fall is finally upon us," he said as he looked towards Blaise and Pansy for help, silently wishing them to rescue their group from Hermione and Draco's cold encounter.

Pansy finally picked up some conversation with Hermione, as she was the other closest to the witch, and the rest of the group followed suit in what seemed to be an amicable gathering.

Three hours later found the group of friends and acquaintances bidding their goodbyes to each other, with unspoken promises to join again sometime in the near future.

"I had so much fun tonight Weasley, thanks again for asking Blaise to invite me," said Pansy as she kissed Ginny on the cheeks. Ginny smiled and hugged her back in response. Hermione saw the exchange and subtly elbowed Ron with a lift of her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes back at her with a promise to explain all of it later.

Harry took his turn thanking everyone, giving a bear hug to Hermione, whispering "You'd better not come back only in six months," to which she grinned and nodded. He moved along to the boys and proceeded to hug Ron with a clap on the back and shake Blaise and Draco's hands. As he had Draco in his proximity, he leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, "Please do remember my earlier proposition, ferret," said Harry with a smirk that only rivaled Draco's , and then chuckled as he retreated to Pansy.

Draco seemed once again fixed on the spot after his brief exchange with Potter, and the lightest of blushes seemed to creep onto his cheeks.

"Blushing Malfoy? Not befitting of a twenty-five year-old man with a reputation as strong as yours," cackled Blaise at his side.

"Piss off," replied Malfoy as he nodded again at the group and promptly disapparated. Blaise roared a laugh as he joined his fiancé and they as well took off into the night.

"Hermione," said Ginny as she approached her best friend. "If you're not too busy this weekend, Merlin knows how tight that schedule of yours is, would you like to join me on a shopping trip to Diagon Alley for the baby?" she asked slyly. If all was going according to plan, Ginny was expected to pop out a baby Potter around the end of the month.

"Of course Gin, don't worry, I can always clear my schedule for you guys."

"Says the witch who's been gone for the last three months," answered Ron as he scooted closer to the two girls. Harry followed soon after.

Hermione scowled at Ron and turned her attention back to Ginny. "I'll be here for a couple of weeks. It seems the team I'm with has decided a much needed break was in order and we're only due back around the end of September. I'll of course be working still, but from home in the meantime."

Ginny nodded and both girls agreed to meet at the The Leaky Cauldron that following Saturday morning to find some trinkets for the new coming child. Ron and Hermione hugged theirs hosts and with a small pop of apparition, both were gone.

"I'm glad we did this," said Harry to Ginny as he kissed her neck from behind.

"Me too, my love. I'm just glad Hermione is back, even for a little while."

Harry nodded in agreement as he helped his wife back indoors and they then proceeded to get ready for bed.

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><p>The following morning, Hermione woke up late and cursed the deities above as she rushed around her flat, trying to dress up and do her makeup at the same time as quickly as possible. Today, she was meeting with the Head of the Department of Mysteries to report on her last trip to Egypt. She could not afford to be late again, as seemed to be the trend in all her latest outings. She finished applying one of the makeup charms Ginny had taught her and summoned a croissant from her pantry before rushing out the door to the closest apparition point, just down her street.<p>

No more than half an hour later, she was seated in Jonas Hagpipe's office, Head of the Department of Mysteries, and was currently explaining the latest of her team's breakthroughs.

"Mr. Hagpipe, you cannot begin to understand the extent of the importance of our discovery. I mean, six hundred year-old runes? This sort of stuff has only been seen in Stonehenge and the Mexican peninsula already," puffed Hermione angrily, trying to get her point across.

Mr. Hagpipe looked at her from the other side of his office desk and sighed deeply. He greatly admired the witch in front of him for her passion, but sometimes he had to admit it could blind her to possible dangers.

"Need I remind you, Miss Granger, that we do not seem to be the only team that is interested in such a discovery," he said after taking a sip of his tea.

"That doesn't scare us! We simply cannot afford to wait until the end of September, sir. I could go back to safely recover our artefacts at least, send another advisor with me or two. Or, let us at least secure the location so we are the only ones with the possibility to go in!"

"Hermione," said Hagpipe gravely. At this, the young witch seemed to finally remember who she was talking to and let out a sigh of defeat. "I cannot risk your team's safety and if that means only going back on September 30th, then so be it."

Hermione looked up to the man, who could be considered in a sense her supervisor, and nodded. "I'll have the complete report on your desk tomorrow morning sir," she said and abruptly up and left the office.

As she stood outside Hagpipe's door, she took a few deep breaths and raised her chin up, deciding on visiting the cafeteria for a late coffee break.

She rounded the corner outside of the office and hit something hard and solid, cursing loudly as she started to fall backwards to the floor. She closed her eyes and took in her breath as she anticipated the meeting with the hard floor, however was surprised when it never came.

As Hermione felt strong arms encircling her, she finally turned her head upwards to meet her savior. Surprise was not a strong enough word of choice for what she felt as she gazed into a pair of light grey eyes.

"Granger, so we meet again," said Draco Malfoy as he stood back up slowly and lifted Hermione back into a normal standing position, apparently taking more time than necessary as his hands lightly brushed on either side of her arms. The witch blushed angrily as she raised her chin back in defiance. _Damn, those hands were softer than I expected,_ she thought to herself. _Damn these hormones, making me think such things about Malfoy. I think I need to get laid._

"Of course, you would be the one to knock me out Malfoy, it seems only fitting that you're the one around whenever something bad happens."

"Need I remind you Granger, that you're the one who wasn't looking at where you were going," he replied coolly. Hermione huffed and stomped through the corridor and back towards the elevators. _He doesn't even deserve my words,_ she angrily thought as she repeatedly pushed the buttons on the wall.

Malfoy was at her side in no less than three large strides and was looking down at her. He seemed to be at least a foot taller than her, maybe more. _At least he finally grew out to be handsome,_ she thought. As she caught herself and cursed her own thought, she gasped quite audibly and Malfoy smirked at her.

"If you wish to be so immature as to not even respond to my words, so be it Granger. It seems not everyone has renounced to their childish ways."

Hermione turned around quickly and pointed her wand at Malfoy. The wizard arched his eyebrows in surprise but didn't move an inch more.

"And now said childish behavior only seems to be an appropriate term as you seem to think pointing your wand at me inside the Ministry is the only way you'll get your point across," he said to her.

"Malfoy, don't pretend you know about childish ways and grudges. Merlin only knows what you've done to earn your good graces with apparently everyone in Wizarding London," she said as she lowered her wand and stood back upright, willing the elevator to get to their floor quicker. "It seems my friends have forgotten what lies in our pasts, but I have not. I will never forgive your family for all your ungodly behavior during the war, and listen closely for I will say this only once, if you cause me any harm again, Merlin help me I will curse you to the next century and back!"

As the elevator finally dinged its' arrival, Hermione quickly made her way inside, pushing frantically any button on the inside wall, wishing the elevator to close, as she glared towards Malfoy.

A few seconds of silence passed, and finally Malfoy surprised her in more ways the one. He burst out laughing, quite frankly it seemed, and took a step inside her elevator, apparently wanting to torment her some more. As he brushed past her shoulders and settled himself beside her, he poked her left arm with his finger and smirked. Hermione was caught off guard and could only gape at his apparent craziness.

"Merlin, Granger, can't you take a joke?" he laughed some more as he pushed a button. "I think you need to get laid. It would do you some good, you seem to be so tense you can't even recognize sarcasm anymore." Hermione turned her head, appalled at the blond wizard's words. _Is he a goddamn mind reader?_

"My sex life is none of your concern, ferret," she replied.

"It could be if you want," and he winked at her. _What the hell?_ She thought. _Surely, Hell has frozen over by now._ Malfoy only proceeded to laugh more as the elevator finally started moving backwards.

"Now Granger, if you're waiting for me to apologize for my ways in Hogwarts, I can already tell you that ship has sailed. Only today, I would think it wise for us to at least be on speaking terms, seeing as each of our own friends have grown to be quite fond of each other."

Hermione pondered his words as she kept staring through the elevator doors. She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "What do you want Malfoy?" Surely, his words hid a great scheme and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

Malfoy finally looked at her, and really _looked_ at her. She had aged a great bit since the war it seemed. Her once bright, lit-up face was still as beautiful as during their Hogwarts days, only now, it seemed more tired. Her eyes still held a mischievous sparkle, and Draco admired her for it since it seemed not everyone had fire in them left. This witch surely could raise hell to any of her enemies, him included, but she had indeed changed since the fall of Voldemort.

Surely, the war had changed everyone, and wizards and witches in London has coped with the Second Wizarding War in their own ways, only Draco was curious as to how the infamous Hermione Granger had been doing. _By curiosity though, not anything else, _he rationalized himself by thought. He had met back up with Potter and Weasley some years ago and they had agreed to an unlikely truce. Malfoy thanked Potter for telling his mother he was still alive, and Potter thanked Malfoy for saving them, that fateful night in Malfoy Manor when Hermione herself had been tortured. The boys then met up a few times in bars or at the Ministry events, though Malfoy always wondered where the third part or their trio was.

Hermione had all but vanished since the end of the war, only popping up every other month and disappeared as quickly as she had arrived back in town. As was tradition regarding any member of the Golden Trio, every time she had been back in Wizarding London, Hermione Granger would pop up in some media article, whether it be the Daily Prophet, or any other wizarding magazine or newspaper. Witch Weekly had even done a special three-page article about her just last year, apparently claiming she was one of the most-eligible bachelorettes in the vicinity of the Greater London Area. Draco had puffed at the absurdity of it all when Pansy had shown him the magazine with a wink. He couldn't deny it any longer, he had always had a small fancy for the Gryffindor witch, but he never seemed to be able to explain where it had come from. _Does the fourth-year Yule ball ring a bell, you moron?_ Rang a voice inside his head. _Piss off,_ he replied to himself angrily.

Bringing his brain back on the subject, Draco wondered what Granger had been doing all these past years. Everytime he had asked her friends at a gathering, they always seemed to change the subject all too quickly, or easily let it slip that she was off somewhere on a new project, never going into any details. Now that the famous witch was back in town, he was not going to let her get away as quickly. He wanted answers, _Only to satisfy curiosity, of course,_ he reasoned with himself.

"Give me a chance," he ushered, so quietly Hermione wasn't sure he had spoken.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Draco coughed and took a deep breath as he whirled around to face the witch. "Give me a chance to show you I've changed. That I'm not that childish anymore. You might finally see what your friends see in me, or at least what they wish to tolerate of me."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco, asking herself if this was a wise decision. However, her hormones decided to take charge at that moment over brain-power since it seemed she could not clearly form a sentence of more than five words around the now grown-up Slytherin. As she gazed into Malfoy's intense stare, she noticed his eyes had changed from their earlier encounter, in which he had saved her from an almost nasty encounter with the floor. Light-grey and steely eyes were now darker, somehow softer. _Beautiful,_ she thought. _No, I meant, what I meant to say was curious,_ she corrected herself.

The elevator finally came to an abrupt stop and a tiny voice coming from the ceiling, or was it a corner in the elevator, quickly announced, "Ground floor, Ministry lobby."

Draco took in a deep breath and turned his head around quickly as the doors opened in front of them. "Have it your way Granger," he said as he started to walk towards the Ministry fireplaces.

Hermione shook herself and kept on debating internally as to what she should make of his offer. She cursed her predicament and finally took off after him, in what seemed to be the longest sprint. _He sure has long legs._ _Ridiculous, now you're not only thinking of his eyes, his legs too._ _Oh shut up, he's still a man after everything, a gorgeous man at that. __That's it, you need to call Justin tonight, I'm sure he'll be able to change your thoughts a bit while you do the dirty. _"Curse this all," she muffled out loud, thinking to herself she had clearly gone insane as she was talking to herself in her mind. As she was finally getting up to speed with Malfoy's long strides, she screamed out his name.

Next time she was going to scream his name that loudly, it would have to be in a far less public place, for only then, Hermione noticed her scream had caused her to now have more than one pair of eyes around her looking strangely at the scene. _You just want to scream his name in a different way darling. _Rolling her eyes at her own conscience's proposition, she put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around to face her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Granger, causing a scene in the bloody lobby of all place," he told her quite abruptly. "Don't you ever think before opening that rude mouth of yours?"

Hermione bit back another curse and her hand recoiled at his harsh words. Looking up at his face, she noticed gone were that deeply entrancing dark-grey look and she was now looking into two light steel-colored eyes, narrowed at her in disdain. _What a bipolar. _She couldn't understand this man, one moment he was all nice and tolerable, the next he was right back at square one with his attitude and arrogance.

"You do not get to be the one to publically humiliate me in the Lobby, _Malfoy," _she spit out at him while grabbing hold of his left arm. The man tried to struggle but in vain, Hermione was stronger than he thought for a woman of her height, and he was finally curious as to what she would answer to his proposition. "Come on, you owe me coffee for that insult back there," threw Hermione at him, as she dragged him towards what Malfoy guessed what the cafeteria.

As soon as the couple burst through the cafeteria doors, they earned more than one pair of eyes on them, as no one could understand what Hermione Granger was doing dragging Draco Malfoy by the arm, quite forcibly also. When Hermione noticed the whole room had turned silent, she ushered a loud, "Don't you have food to eat!" annoyingly and finally let go of Malfoy's arm. "Come on Malfoy, coffee's this way."

As Draco begrudgingly followed Hermione a few paces behind her, he couldn't help but wonder what had gotten her in such a foul mood. No time to despair though, he finally had a chance to talk to her alone and he would make the most of it.

A few minutes later, both were seated at a far end of the cafeteria, and after Hermione had whispered a _Muffliato_ spell so that curious ears wouldn't listen in, she looked at Malfoy with curious eyes. Malfoy looked back at her, not one to back down from a challenge of stare-down and waited to see if she would say the first word. Knowing she was too curious for her own good, he smiled at her when she sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, what Malfoy? You're the one who wanted to talk remember? I have a report to finish and I would enjoy if our little conversation didn't take up all day."

Another smile, true genuine smile, graced his features as he leaned back in his chair. He was calculating his words, choosing carefully what he would say to the fiery witch in front of him, lest he blow up his only chance at a pardon for all the wrongs he had committed.

"Granger," he finally said gravely. "You have to admit you noticed the change in everyone since the war. Lucius, well, he might be in Azkaban still, and with good reason. But my mother and I, we've righted our errors, we've donated more than any family ever has to causes in need of it, I've apologized to almost everyone since school, and hell, even your friends tolerate me when we meet up, can't you-"

"That's just it Malfoy," she interrupted. "I don't understand what they see in you. You must've manipulated them, as you seem to be particularly good in that field. But I refuse to admit this isn't part of some greater scheme of yours. What. Do. You. Want." She asked his forcefully, putting emphasis on her last words.

Draco sighed again and waited for her to calm down. Hermione though, had to admit, he seemed to have grown in patience. As it was, the old Draco Malfoy from school would had already burst out and wands would've been confronting each other, even though they were in public. _No hot temper anymore? What the hell._

"Granger, if you could at least open your damned ears and listen a minute, you would see that I'm trying to make you understand. Our friends are closer than I'd like to admit, Merlin knows how annoying Weasley can get after a few minutes, but apparently, Blaise has found a way to get past all that, and if Blaise can do it, I sure as hell can. And apparently, you're the one who's still holding onto stupid school-rivalries."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him for what seemed to be the twentieth time that day.

"I would think it smart that we let go of our past and at least try and tolerate each other's presence while with our friends."

"Are you crazy Malfoy! Never in a million years would I willingly spend time with you, nevertheless with all my friends also. You're still an arrogant, stuck-up brat who listens to every of his maniacal father's commands!" Hermione screamed back at him.

"Don't pretend to know me Granger. And if I were you, I wouldn't be so quick as to assume anything about me. I thought you were the smartest, you always seemed to be the one to give others second and third chances. I guess I was wrong, I guess we were all wrong about you then. Sorry to have wasted your _oh so_ precious time," he sneered at her.

Draco put back his coffee on the table and without so much as another breath, he got up and quickly strode out of the cafeteria. Hermione was left there, sitting at the table, lost in her own thoughts. Surely, if she took the time to think about all that had happened, she could agree that Malfoy had changed, but for the better? That was a whole other story.

The weeks following that war had been the hardest. Witches and wizards from all over Wizarding London had been called upon many places, many funerals of course, meetings concerning what would be the outcome of the Ministry now that Voldemort had been brought down, more Wizengamot trials then Hermione even cared to count. In fact, she remembered every detail about the Malfoy family trials. The three blonds had been judged one after the other, Draco being the last, and she couldn't help but shiver as she remembered some of the words he had said.

'_Give me a chance,' he pleaded to the jury. He then looked around the room, many Hogwarts student and professors had been present at that trial also. Hermione, Ron and Harry had been seated closest to the floor, and sat only a few meters away from Malfoy. 'Let me live a free life. I've already changed since my adolescence, I think I proved that over the course of the last days leading up to the war.' He gazed around the room, seeming to be looking for a certain pair of eyes. Hermione recoiled of surprise when his eyes finally landed on hers. 'Let me prove to you that I have changed. Only one chance is all I ask of you. And if I screw up, Merlin knows those chances are great, than put me in Azkaban and let me rot there for the rest of my life.'_

Hermione remembered at that time, she couldn't help but think he was speaking directly to her. She must've been mistaken, obviously he was just making his case in front of the Wizengamot. But she would never forget the look in his eyes as he looked at her, and ushered those pleading words. As she guiltily thought back to all the times she had met with him since that fateful day, usually at Ministry events and charity balls, sometimes with her friends out at night, she couldn't help but feel bad for all the times she had addressed him so coldly and spat back words at him. He only ever replied with sarcasm anyways, and seemed to have lost his arrogant ways. He had never snapped back at her, he had not used the word Mudblood since their 5th year, and she had to admit, his insults were becoming lighter, filled now with a tint of humor instead of pure hate.

_Damn him and his apologetic ways. I didn't even know it was possible for a Malfoy to feel anything remotely close to guilt._

With a shake of her head and a swoosh of her wand to clear the now cold coffee in front of her, Hermione stood up determinately. She resigned herself to the fact she would have to apologize in the near future at Malfoy, but she didn't need to do that today. No, today, she was going to finish that damn report and have it on Hagpipe's desk by the end of the day. And then, she would treat herself to a long hot bath at her flat, and then maybe she would indulge in some ice cream and her favorite soap operas to change her mind.

Definitely. Strawberry ice cream and some good old muggle television shows. Perfect, quiet evening.

* * *

><p>End chapter!<p>

Let me know your thoughts


	3. Chapter 3

**Last chapter :**

"_I thought you were the smartest, you always seemed to be the one to give others second and third chances. I guess I was wrong, I guess we were all wrong about you then."_

With a shake of her head and a swoosh of her wand to clear the now cold coffee in front of her, Hermione stood up determinately. She resigned herself to the fact she would have to apologize in the near future at Malfoy, but she didn't need to do that today.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"He said _what?_" exclaimed Ginny as she all but spit out her coffee. Sitting across from her at a small table in the Leaky Cauldron was Hermione, currently retelling her the events of her encounter earlier in the week with Malfoy.

"Oh yeah," said Hermione angrily. "And he had the nerve to act all sarcastic and calm and, just, ah, bugger him! Who does he think he is!"

Ginny smiled and looked at her best friend. For the supposed Smartest Witch of her Age, Hermione sure was oblivious to some things, usually related to men. Ginny reached across the table and put her hand on Hermione's in an attempt to calm her down.

"Hermione, you just didn't realize it because you don't know him yet, but that was as close to an apology as you are going to get. We all had a similar conversation one day or another, the funniest was with Ron." Hermione looked at Ginny disbelievingly.

"I'm sorry, I don't think my ears are properly functioning. Did you say Malfoy apologized to all of you?"

Ginny smiled again. "Oh don't worry, it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns. This is still Malfoy, I mean, he's usually only tolerable few hours at a time, but in one form or another, he managed to excuse his past behaviors these past years. You just weren't around to give him the chance to, being away all the time because of work."

Ginny let go of Hermione's hand and took another sip of her coffee, all the while noticing her friend's facial features slowly change into comprehension. "I'm telling you, you should have seen the boys, Ron's expression was priceless!"

_Ginny smiled as she looked at the boys up in the air. It had taken Ron a while to accept the fact that a few old Slytherins would be joining them at their usual Saturday Quidditch match, but he had finally accepted after a stern "Ron! Let it go," from Harry. The red-haired witch congratulated herself on joining everyone together around a common interest. Of course, it would be that Quidditch would bring all these old sworn enemies together._

_As she remembered the past week when she had accidentally knocked into Malfoy and Blaise during one of her outings in Diagon Alley, the three had gotten to talk and she had invited them to join them the following Saturday to play with herself, Harry and Ron. Harry and Malfoy had already let go of their prejudices a few months prior, choosing to acknowledge each other's presence in public, and Blaise had never been quite into all that Deatheather drama, which had made her work with him easier. Blaise had one time invited Draco along to a Friday evening at the bar and that had been when Draco had apologized for treating Harry like shit all those years. Both stayed pretty manly about it, and would never admit it out loud, but they had more in common than they knew._

_Ginny looked back up at the sky to check up on who was winning the Slytherin versus Gryffindor 2 on 2 just in time to notice Ron swinging a particularly big bludger towards Malfoy. Blaise steered his broom towards the ground as fast as he could, as Harry did the same, only Ron remained in the air in a daze. Few minutes later, everyone was on the ground and Ginny was examining Malfoy's head for possible bruises._

"_What the fuck Weasley," he exclaimed as he regained consciousness._

_Ron approached him slowly, as if waiting for a punch to be thrown his way. "Um, sorry Malfoy. That wasn't clean." _

"_No, no, it's alright. I mean, I guess I had it coming after all those years," the blond wizard responded. "Really, it was my fault."_

"_No, I hit you with the bludger Malfoy, clearly it was my fault. I shouldn't have let my emotions come over me like that." _

_Blaise, Harry and Ginny all looked at each other while the two boys were still talking. It seemed something else was transpiring along with their exchanged words._

"_No Weasley, I'm sorry, really," said Malfoy as he looked Weasley in the eyes with a pleading look for him to understand. Something finally seemed to snap in Ron and he nodded, reaching his hand out towards Malfoy, who was still lying on the ground lazily. Both men helped each other stand and when both were finally on their feet, Malfoy raised an eyebrow at Ron._

"_The past is in the past, Weasley? What do you say?"_

_Ron could only nod, dumbfounded, as if he wasn't sure this was all really happening. Ginny smiled and reached out to squeeze Harry's hand as she finally understood what was truly transpiring in front of them. Malfoy nodded again and clapped one of his hands onto Ron's shoulder._

"_Alright then, now that that's settled, Firewhiskey's on me," Draco said as he floated towards the house. "Come on Weasley, two shots and I bet you're drunk off your ass!"_

_Ron huffed and snapped out of his daze, jogging along after Malfoy. "Piss off, I'm sure I hold my alcohol way longer than you, ferret."_

"And since then, well, suffice to say the boys get along when they have to," said Ginny to Hermione, as the two made their way through the almost deserted streets of Diagon Alley. They had left The Leaky Cauldron to continue on with their shopping as Ginny resumed the event of Malfoy's apology. "Don't get me wrong, they still fight and argue all the time, boys will always be boys! But, it seems to be more of a brotherly banter, if you know what I mean?"

Hermione's eyes narrowed as she looked back at Ginny. They entered a small quaint shop, in search of some clothing for baby Potter.

"Ginny, I'm not saying I don't believe you," started Hermione as she showed her a deep blue kit. Ginny frowned and shook her head. "It's just, I'm certain there's something behind all of this. It's still Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! Do you not see it?"

"Hermione, I swear to you, give him a chance. After a few times with him, you can't help but notice he's changed, and for the better. Although still arrogant, he's a handsome, sexy arrogant man," she grinned.

Hermione grimaced and her whole body shook as the biggest of shivers passed through her. "You're kidding Gin, seriously? Did you even really just say that out loud?"

"You've to admit Hermione, Quidditch has done wonders to his body, especially those strong arms."

"Oh dear Merlin, that's it, pregnancy hormones getting to your sanity!"

Ginny only laughed and kept on browsing through the store.

_**She's right you know, you felt those arms only earlier this week**, _a little voice in her head said.

_Shut it you, that was an accident. I would never willingly touch Malfoy's big strong arms._

**_There, you even admitted it yourself! Ha, you did notice his body!_**

_Most certainly not! That's, that is preposterous, now piss off will you._

**_If his arms are that big and strong, imagine what other parts of him are as-_**

_That's enough!_

"Hermione, are you ok?" said Ginny as she waved a hand in front of her eyes. Hermione shook herself out of her trance.

"What were you saying Gin? Sorry, I got caught up thinking about … Egypt, and, stuff. You know, work. Right." Hermione thought she was trying to convince herself more than Ginny.

"I was telling you how funny it was when just before you arrived at the shower this week, Harry was even mentioning to Malfoy how you guys would be a good match! I mean, he has to snag himself a strong-temper witch to be able to stand against him everyday, right?" said Ginny with a smirk. _They only need a little push,_ she thought to herself as she looked at Hermione to see her reaction.

Hermione blushed bright red, possibly even more red than Ron had ever been, and her eyebrows shooted up towards her hairline. "Ok, that's. No. You're just. Why are we even talking about Malfoy still?" She flushed as she turned into a narrow aisle of the store and focused intensely at all the little objects on a shelf. "So, have you decided on names yet?" she tried to change the subject.

Ginny smiled knowingly and let Hermione steer the course of their steamy conversation back to the origin of their shopping trip. _Ha! This will be even easier than I thought if she's only blushing at the thought of Harry pairing them up,_ she thought giddily.

Needless to say, no more word of Draco Malfoy, sexy, handsome but arrogant git, was ushered that afternoon. The two girls went on visiting a few other shops before coming back to the Potter residence and starting to unload their bags.

* * *

><p>The following Tuesday was Blaise Zabini's first day as the official replacement of Ginevra Weasley, now Potter, at Hogwarts School of Wizardry as Quidditch Professor. To say the dark-skin Slytherin was nervous would be an understatement. However, his mother had always taught him to show no fear in whatever form, especially when he would be in front of twenty or so students.<p>

"What could go wrong," he said to himself out loud while pacing his quarters. "Only a bunch of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff Third years, no harm to come." He continued drilling a path around his desk as he impatiently glanced at his watch every few minutes.

Ginny Potter was due to arrive any minute and he would never admit out loud that he was ever anticipating greeting her as much as today. She had agreed to help him throughout his first week of teaching, but had agreed to only watch from the back of his class, as he would need to take the lead to be able to properly teach his students throughout the next year. If anyone would've ever told him he would be glad to see a Weasley this much, he would've laughed in his face, never believing the joke. Blaise smiled unknowingly as his pacing continued, while he thought back to the unlikely Quidditch match that had reunited the former students. He would've never thought to be on a somewhat friendly basis with his supposed nemeses, but today was glad that he could count on the Weaselette. She had sure done a number on more than one student at Hogwarts these past years.

"I swear, another ten steps and you'll have dug yourself a hole to China with all this back and forth," came the melodic voice of his long-awaited guest. Ginny stood in the doorway to his quarters, leaning against the framework of the door, her left hand stroking her growing belly absentmindedly.

Blaise huffed at the newcomer, but grinned nonetheless. "About damn time Weasley."

"It's Potter now, need I remind you."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, each one daring the other to break their staring contest. As Blaise lifted an eyebrow, daring Ginny to bow down, she cracked and smiled as she took a step forward to properly greet him as she kissed him on the cheek.

"Never pegged you for the nervous type, Zabini," she said as he turned around and led her out of his quarters, and lead the way to the Quidditch pitch.

"Yeah, yeah, Slytherin demeanor, Pureblood behavior. Never been good at that stuff and you know it."

"If only you weren't the only one Blaise," she let out wishfully.

Blaise looked sideways to Ginny as he kept on walking, the beginning of a thought forming at the back of his head. He opened his mouth to question the witch but was interrupted by the cheers of students coming from the pitch a few yards from them. They had obviously spotted Ginny, she had always been one of the favorite professors, but Blaise shook his head to clear his thoughts as he braced himself for his first class. _Today is going to be one of those days,_ he thought, as he joined Ginny who was now shaking hands with her old students.

* * *

><p>After four classes of Quidditch and flying lessons, one emergency trip to the infirmary with a student, and an incident with a fake wand that one of his fifth year students had replaced instead of his own, Blaise was heading to the Great Hall, Ginny Potter in tow. It had been one hell of a day, and Blaise hoped the year wouldn't follow in the same curious manner. As the pair reached the Head's table, Ginny left his side momentarily to greet the other professors, while he eagerly dug through his full plate of food. That trip to the infirmary had left him with only two minutes to spare for lunch, and he had to admit, the nervous feeling in his gut didn't seem to want to let him chow down a few bites. So Blaise had skipped lunch and had headed back to another of his classes.<p>

Ginny plopped herself down beside him a few minutes later and she began to pill some food on her own plate. "That wasn't too bad Zabini, wasn't it?"

He laughed and then almost choked on his bite. "You are a crazy, crazy woman Weasley. I sure as hell hope it won't be like this the rest of the year."

Ginny roared as she kept on eating, a little smile tucked away on her the side of her lips. "Anyways, let's change your mind a bit from all the stress, shall we? Considering all your classes, I was wondering if you and Parkinson would be of attendance at the Ministry Gala this Friday?"

"You know I would never miss out on such fun events," his voice dripped with sarcasm. "I tried reasoning the witch, really I did. The only reason I could agree with her on for going was that she could parade one of her own gowns, and you have to admit, it's good for the business. So yeah, I guess I'll see you there?"

Ginny nodded as she kept on eating.

Pansy Parkinson had obviously followed her friends after the turn of events leading up to the War. She had been one of the more resistant to the change and had kept to her Pureblood ways even months after Voldemort's demise. However, after meeting a certain red-haired Weasley witch a fateful night in a pub on Diagon Alley, Pansy had to admit she might've been wrong in her ways for a few years. Ginny and Pansy had gone through with one of the most public and outrageous verbal fights to ever grace Diagon Alley, but in the end, the two women had come to an understanding. It still took years to form a semblance of friendship between the two, but each witch respected the other, and with respect came a form of loyalty that Pansy couldn't deny anymore. When her womanly logic would take over, Ginny would rightfully put her back in her place, and in revenge, when Ginny stormed up an overheated argument, Pansy would make her see reason. It wasn't the perfect friendship, but it was something.

Also, there was the fact that Pansy was now trying to make her own name in wizarding fashion as she had taken an interest in robes and gown designing. Whenever the two witches had a disagreement that would last them more than a week, Pansy would usually send Ginny a new dress or some kind of accessory or another, and vice versa, Ginny would be sure to feed Pansy some new gossip pertaining a witch or wizard, and the two would forget all past grudges.

An unlikely friendship, yes.

"Weaselette," stressed Blaise from Ginny's right side. She shook out of her daze and looked at him.

"I asked you, do you know if Granger is planning on coming too?" he asked.

"I would think so, yes, seeing as her team in only due back end of September."

"Good. I assume I'm not the only one who noticed the awkward silence from our recent gathering? Not to mention, all the possibilities of a certain encounter at said Ministry Gala?" Blaise put emphasis on certain words and looked at Ginny to be sure she understood the meaning of his words. She only smiled and kept on eating gracefully.

"I'm always a step ahead of you Zabini, when are you going to learn," she teased.

"You are more cunning than you think Weasley. Could've been sorted into Slytherin all those years ago if it weren't for that thing you call, what is it now? … Ah, yes, I believe some call it courage and bravery?" he taunted. Ginny turned her head abruptly, glaring at her friend. "Anyways, if you claim to be a step ahead of me, you wouldn't mind putting a few Galleons on the table for a small, friendly bet then, would you?"

At this, the witch only knotted her eyebrows in deep concentration, thinking of all the possible outcomes of their Friday evening. "You know Hermione would never fall for that classic charm and all."

"Ten galleons on Malfoy."

"I raise you twenty Galleons on Hermione. You don't know her like I do, she would never do anything with the ferret before knowing him properly."

"And you don't know Draco like I do, dear Weaselette. When he sets his mind on something, he usually does anything in his power to get it," he challenged. As the two stared each other in the eyes, baby blue battling with light green, an understanding was reached.

"Fine," Ginny retorted. "This won't be the first time you owe me over some petty bet Zabini. When will you learn to bet against me in anything?" she teased a she resumed her dinner.

Blaise only chuckled and the pair quietly finished their meal in silence. Friday couldn't come quicker, and Blaise couldn't wait to be twenty galleons richer if it meant it was at the expense of Ginny's failure to acknowledge the sexual tension between their mutual friends.

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><p>Two days later, Ginny and Blaise were making their way to the Great Hall for lunch in between classes when they round a corner and heard a familiar laugh. As they got closer to two figures on the side of the Great Hall doors, Ginny smiled and quickened her steps towards the entrance of the Hall.<p>

"Hermione!" she exclaimed as she rushed quicker.

The two witches near the doors turned around and the youngest of the two wore an expression of surprise.

"Gin? I thought you were on leave!" replied Hermione to her friend as she received a hug. Blaise reached the group a moment later.

"I'm helping our dear Blaise for his first week. Nervous as hell this one is," she admitted.

"Language, Miss Potter," whispered McGonagall angrily.

"Weaselette," growled Blaise.

Hermione only smiled at the unlikely gathering. "It was great seeing you again Minerva. I will be back in your office late afternoon if that is good with you?" she directed at her past Headmistress. The older witch only nodded her approval before turning and heading into the Great Hall.

"Granger, good to see you again," greeted Blaise as he nodded towards Hermione in a welcoming gesture.

"Good to see too I guess," she replied with a weird looking expression on her face. Blaise then nodded back at Ginny and followed McGonagall into the Hall.

"What are you doing here?" ushered Ginny excidetely to her friend.

"Well, I'm only in town for a few weeks and thought I would make the best of it. Although our discovery of the Runes was a breakthrough, we'll still need all the help we can get to decipher their meaning. I thought I would pay Minerva visit and asked her if I could borrow some books from the Library."

"Of course this is about books!"

"I'm sorry Ginny, you know how work is important. I would love to stay and eat with you, but I'm running on a tight schedule."

"I know, I know," Ginny smiled. "At least tell me you'll be at the Gala tomorrow night?"

"As much as it pains me to say, yes I'll be there."

"Great! So what would you say to a little shopping trip tomorrow afternoon then? I'm sure Blaise won't mind if I leave a bit earlier than planned. And anyways, we need to find you a nice looking dress to woo you some wizards!"

Hermione blushed at the words of her friends. "Please Ginny, no more matchmaking. Need I remind you the disaster date with Cormac last year? I just want to enjoy my evening with my best friends I've missed so."

"Alright, alright. No matchmaking, but we are still going to find you the best dress in Wizarding London, and you will outshine all the other witches present at that Gala, whether you want it or not! I'm sure you've been missing out on dressing like a real woman, ever since you took on that project in Egypt. I am pretty certain you don't dress out of those muggle jeans and more than ordinary blouses you wear there."

Hermione genuinely smiled at her best friend. "Well, I can't deny you know me better than I know myself there, Gin."

"Trust me Hermione, I hope I really, really know you well then."

As the two witches parted ways with the promise to meet up the next day, Hermione couldn't help but think back to her friend's last words. _What is she sprouting, she's known me better than anyone else for the past ten years._ And with that, Hermione headed for the one place in Hogwarts she had always missed, her dear library.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong> :

Some more play on the name-basis, I know. Let me know what you think about it all!

Also, shorter scenes than the other chapters but asides from Draco and Hermione, I think the rest of the characters in this fiction have something to bring to the table, and ps. I just love Blaise's cockiness and attitude he often has in fics!

Don't forget to review your thoughts if you have two seconds :) See you all next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note :**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS! From whatever part of the world you're in and also whichever holiday you are celebrating! Happy New Year's in advance also **

Just wanted to tell you all this story is coming along quite well, I have another few chapters written ahead but am still working on editing. While on a weekend vacation with the family, I had a surge of imagination and now I can't wait to write it all, much action to come !

**No more babbling now, here's the chapter! Don't forget to review if you have the time!**

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><p><strong>Last chapter on Circa Mundi :<strong>

"I know, I know," Ginny smiled. "At least tell me you'll be at the Gala tomorrow night?"

"As much as it pains me to say, yes I'll be there." Hermione replied.

"Great! So what would you say to a little shopping trip tomorrow afternoon then? I'm sure Blaise won't mind if I leave a bit earlier than planned. And anyways, we need to find you a nice looking dress to woo you some wizards!"

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

The following morning, Hermione got up late once again. She admitted to herself she might finally need to invest in a muggle alarm clock if she wanted to chase away that nasty habit. As she made her way to her kitchen, she outlined her day in her head, thinking of how much work she would be able to complete before Ginny's arrival later that afternoon. As she waited for her coffee to be ready, she dug out her bag near the table and took out a copy from her file on the runes she had discovered prior to her return to London. It wasn't long before her dining room table was filled to the brink with muggle papers and wizarding parchments, a mess laid out only she would be able to find herself in.

She had been away for the past three months on her latest assignment from the Ministry. Hermione used the term Wizarding archeologist whenever anyone would ask about her career. Following the end of the war, she had flown to Australia for a few months to track down her parents and had restored their memories. Alexander and Jean Granger had been more than surprised and a tad angry to say the least. After a few days spent in the company of her parents, Hermione had come back to London, begrudgingly leaving them to live there after they had voiced their request to keep a normal, quiet life in the land down under.

Sure, she had missed her parents, but she still had another sort of family in London, and without them, she would not be the witch she was today. Upon her return, she had been offered many jobs in the Ministry, and a lot of offers from various companies deserving the Wizarding community had been laid in front of her. However, she had decided to go back to her muggle roots and decided to continue her studies at a muggle university. Three years later, she was awarded with her diploma, claiming her to be a graduate in majoring Archeological studies, with a minor in Geography and Environment. She had always loved history when she was a child, and always thought there was more to some historical sites around the world that those muggles let on.

After coming back to wizarding London, she had taken an internship under the wing of Avery Bode, who was an unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries. He was one of the few wizards who often worked outside of the Ministry walls and in the field, cooperating with various muggle associations throughout Europe, while they dug more deeply for magical traces in certain historical sites. When Hermione was the one who helped him uncover a magical trace in the site of Birka, Sweden, Bode could only marvel at the young witches' intelligence and encourage her to continue on the same career path. Later though, following a disagreement with older Unspeakables, Hermione had decided to work individually as an advisor to the Ministry, working closely with muggle entities such as the British Archeological Association and others. Over the years, a few wizards had voiced their interest in being a part of her studies, and so it found her today with a small team of four other witches and wizards, all advisors to their own associations across Great Britain. Sometimes, they would work together or break down in teams, and on other projects, Hermione preferred working alone as some of her colleagues also liked doing once in a while. They were currently though in a project with the Ministry, as Hagpipe was the one who had asked Hermione to follow up on some weird-looking hieroglyphic markings found at a site in Southern Egypt.

Even if they were currently on hiatus due to the reception of a threatening letter that Hagpipe had gotten earlier that month, Hermione was still working in her flat, trying to get ahead and decrypt the meaning behind the Runes they had found located near the glyphs.

It seemed that only minutes had passed since she had been awake, but when Ginny popped into her flat, Hermione let out a cry of surprise as she had been too absorbed in her work to notice the time go by.

"You really have to work less Hermione," said the younger witch as she took a seat next to her friend. "At the rate you're going, you'll have gray hair on your thirtieth birthday!"

"Thank Gin! You sure know how to reassure a witch." Hermione got up to hug her friend and resigned herself to the fact she wouldn't get as much research done as she would have liked for that day.

"So tell me 'Mione, do you by any chance have a date for the Ministry event yet?"

At this, Hermione scoffed. "Ginny, even if I had the time for a date, you know I prefer going to these events alone. Having to endure small talk with people you haven't seen in months and then having to sit through the most agonizing speeches our dear Minister bestows upon his crowd is something I wouldn't wish on any poor wizard."

"Hermione, you've got to be kidding me. There are more than a handful of wizards in London that would do anything in their power to spend even the tiniest part of an evening with you, even if that means having to endure the worst of all socialising wizarding events."

With a roll of her eyes, Hermione answered, "And pray tell, Mrs. Potter. Why the sudden interest in my dating life? You are still not forgiven for hinting at matchmaking Malfoy and I, and now you're more than keen on the fact that I need a date for tonight. I've been single for the past two years, why the renowned interest ?"

"Every one of our friends is in a relationship Hermione, hell, even Ron managed to find himself a witch. Although, we do have bets on how long that relationship will last… Anyways, Harry and I, you have to understand, we just can't wait for you to find your true love."

"You know I don't believe in that bullcrap everyone calls destiny."

"Well maybe if you believed in it a bit more, you'd have more chance in your romantic life. Don't you miss the feel of coming home to someone you've thought about all day, only to then be cherished and loved while he whisks you away the bedroom and-"

"Gin! Enough! Have you been reading some of those romance novels I've lent you? Or seriously, you're going to have to pop that baby out as soon as possible because I think pregnancy is messing with your brain!"

Ginny laughed at Hermione's sudden outburst and at seeing her friend so happy and carefree, Hermione couldn't help but join in the laughter. Both girls had missed each other and were quite content to be in each other's company, even if only for a few weeks.

"We still have a few weeks to go, don't we little James," said Ginny while stroking her belly gently.

"I wouldn't mind him coming out a few days earlier so I could greet the little fella!"

"And now you just jinxed it!" said Ginny amused. "Seriously though, Parkinson isn't quite finished yet with my order for his baby clothing. You could always postpone your return to work a few days and go back after I give birth?"

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "I completely forgot to owl Ron about that. What is this about you and Parkinson all being chummy now? Trying to replace me, you evil witch!"

Ginny bellowed a great laugh and then softly put her hand on Hermione's as she leaned closer to her. "You know no one will ever be able to replace you. However, Parkinson does fill in your spot as designated friend when you're off to Merlin knows where!"

Hermione's eyes narrowed and she sighed angrily. "What is it with all of you being friends with Slytherins now! I leave a few months at a time, and suddenly you all up and make new friends and Slytherins at that!"

"Hermione," the red-haired witch sighed, taking her hand away as she starting absentmindedly playing with the closest parchment. "I regret to say, you indeed missed out on a few things while you've been gone, but there's no time like the present to re-acquaint yourself with some of those people. When you went to Oxford to continue your studies, you missed out on a lot of ex-deatheaters apologising for their errors, and they've almost all completed their wizarding community service sentence in one way or the other."

"Wizarding community-service? What's that all about. I've never heard of such a thing! And you can't tell me they tell you they're sorry and that you can so easily put the past in the past."

Hermione got up angrily and started to put away her files vigorously as she awaited Ginny's answer. When the other witch failed to answer her questions, Hermione banged her hand on the table, startling her friend. "Well?" she begged Ginny.

"What do you want me to tell you Hermione? It's not like you've been very present these last years, and any time you come back, you're gone no more than two weeks later. It's not like you've really had a chance to talk to any of the people we grew up with since you've started those projects of yours," Ginny accused with a harsh voice.

"That's cause I prefer spending my time with my friends when I'm home, rather than lose an evening to some suck-up ex-deathers who are trying to reclaim their place!"

"Did you even give them a chance?"

"No need to Ginny. I think their actions speak for themselves."

At this, Ginny once again roared in laughter. Hermione's eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to understand the rather abrupt change in the atmosphere. As she sat back down at the table, Ginny started speaking again.

"Mione. Do you even know half of what these people were up to in the last five years or so? Zabini is now replacing me as Quidditch professor at Hogwarts, I think that goes in saying that he cares enough for the future of the students that he wants to be a part of their education, so they wouldn't follow in his footsteps. Parkinson, she's still a bitch sometimes, but that's how we like her. She's been running fashion shows all over Europe, and most of the proceeds of her sales go to some charity or the other. Theodore Nott even helped Neville and Padma set up an orphanage for the children who lost their parents and relatives to the war. Hell, even Malfoy's been up to some good lately, donating whatever historical artefact he finds on his missions and he's been giving the profits of most of his auctions to St-Mungo's."

After Ginny's outburst, Hermione couldn't help but be speechless. She had to admit, she would have never guessed that these people would do any good in their lives.

"What about their parents and families? I'm sure they haven't changed their old Pureblood ways or did a complete 180 degree personality switch," Hermione asked incredulously.

"Most of their parents are in Azkaban serving their sentences. Many of the older Purebloods did far too much bad to stay out in the open, and so they've been locked behind bars, some sentences longer than others. Blaise's mother was never actively part of the war so she's been pardoned, as was Narcissa Malfoy for helping Harry that night in Malfoy Manor. Also, Theodore Nott's parents were killed but his uncle Jackson Nott has been forgiven for he had been imperiused almost the whole part of the Second War. The Crabbes and the Goyles though are all in Azkaban, including both Vincent and Gregory."

Hermione kept on staring at Ginny with an expression that was hard to read. After opening and closing her mouth several times, attempting to get a few words out, she admitted to herself that she had been rendered speechless and so stayed put at her place, choosing instead to look down to the floor.

"While you process all that 'Mione, I'll be right back. The loo is calling! Seriously, I can't wait for this baby to be out!" Ginny stood and made her way out of the kitchen while Hermione was left alone at the table.

It made sense, what Ginny said about her missing out on the last few years. But had she been away for so long she had missed so much change? Surely, there was no way that her best friends and enemies had gotten _that _close together, no?

"Hermione!" screamed Ginny from down the hall. "You're thinking too loud, I can hear you all the way from here!"

The brown-haired witch smiled and shook her head. Some things never changed and Hermione was glad that Ginny's temper and personality was one thing that remained the same since their Hogwarts days. After putting away her imaginary files on the ex-deatheaters students-now-wizards in a corner of her head, Hermione resigned herself to admit she could at least try and be polite if these people were to cross her way.

Hugs and kisses though, still way out of the question.

"OOH!" suddenly exclaimed a high-pitched voice from the hall. Hermione got up as quick as she could and ran to the bathroom where Ginny was found half leaning on the counter, a hand to her belly.

"Dear Merlin Ginny, is everything alright?"

"No worries, little James just can't wait to come out! It's just a small contraction, Mum said this could happen in the last month." Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration and she was letting out small puffs of air through mouth.

"Well, eh, is there anything I can do for you?" Hermione's eyes were roaming all over Ginny's sweating face. The younger witch was still concentrating on her breathing and shook her head negatively. She held up the hand that was clutching her belly, while the other remained in a vice-grip on the counter.

"Is this even normal, Ginny?"

She nodded.

"Would you like a glass of water at least?"

Another nod.

Hermione quickly summoned a tall glass of water and put it on the vanity counter just as Ginny seemed to regain control of her breathing. Her muscles finally released tension and she let out one long breath. After downing the glass of water, she slowly sat down onto the closed toilet and wiped her forehead clear of the small beads of sweat that had accumulated.

"Ginny, how many contractions have you already had?"

"This is the sixth, although as I've said, my mother had warned me of the possibility of this leading up to birth."

"That was intense though Gin, you have to admit!"

"Ha, 'Mione, don't worry. It's completely normal, and they're only going to get more intense until little James comes out."

"Still, that was nerve-wracking. Dear Merlin, I'm not ready to be pregnant!"

The two burst out laughing at Hermione's comment and any earlier words concerning deatheaters and past errors and mistakes were all but forgotten.

"Now help me up 'Mione, we need to find you a new dress! And maybe a wizard too," she winked at her friend. Hermione chuckled and proceeded to help Ginny up and both witches made their way out of the flat moments later.

* * *

><p>"You're crazy if you think I'm wearing that out in public, much less a Ministry event!" came the harsh voice of Hermione as Ginny reluctantly put the dress she had shown her, back on the rack.<p>

"Gosh, you're such a prude Granger, no wonder you don't have a date!"

"Stop it with my love life! And I'm no prude, Ginevra Weasley Potter. I just don't wear shiny, translucent dresses that barely cover my arse to Ministry events."

Ginny laughed once more and kept on browsing in another rack. It was late afternoon and the witches once again found themselves in Diagon Alley on a shopping trip.

"If we don't find a dress here, we're going back to my flat Gin! I'm starting to get sick of seeing all this fabric."

Hermione sighed and turned on herself, looking at all the dress racks from her vantage point in the middle of the shop. There were so many colorful robes and gowns, only she couldn't seem to find anything that fit her correctly. Either the gowns were of the right fit but wrong color, or vice versa.

"It's helpless Gin, I'm going to have to go naked!" she exclaimed from the middle of the sales floor. A few paces to her right, Ginny grinned at her as she shook her head. "See! No prude!"

"Might it be possible for me to show you some diamonds or pearls to go with your bold choice of outfit, Miss?" said a small voice right behind Hermione. She jumped at the sound and turned around, sporting two bright-red stains on her cheeks.

"It is in my nature to assume you will be attending the Ministry even, am I correct?" asked the small, plump witch now in front of Hermione. "My name is Isla Graphook, nice to meet you Mrs. …?"

"Oh no, it's Miss Granger, ma'am," she replied as she extended her hand towards the older witch.

"Well then, Miss Granger, you stay put and I'll be right back," said Ms. Graphook as she completely ignored Hermione's extended hand and turned on her heel to disappear as quickly as she had appeared only moments earlier.

Meanwhile, Ginny had rejoined Hermione's side after hearing the commotion. The two girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows as they patiently waited for the older witch's return. A few moments later, Mrs. Graphook came back with a large box in her hands. The box was one of the darkest shades of grey Hermione had seen and intricate carvings decorated the sides. There even seemed to be a smell that radiated from the package the witch held in her hands, but Hermione brushed it off, thinking it must've been a fragment of her imagination.

"I don't usually go through my personal antique collection, but a young witch in Paris gave me this dress once, and to this day, I thought I would never find it a good owner," said the owner of the shop as she handed Hermione the package. "As soon as I lay eyes on you earlier my dear, I simply knew that no other dress would do the thing on a body such as sweet as yours." And then she winked at Hermione.

Ginny stood to the side trying to stifle her laughter. Something about the owner radiated mischief but she also remind the young witches of a grandmother figure. Her eyes twinkled with stars as she nodded and went back to stand behind her counter.

As the two girls sat on the nearest bench, Hermione put the box between them and could only stare at the marvel of the box design. If only the box was this beautiful, she could only imagine the dress.

"Merlin, will you open it already? Any more staring and there'll be a hole in the dress!" exclaimed Ginny impatiently.

Hermione laughed and followed her friend's request. As she slid the top of the box on the side, she gasped quite audibly at the beauty of the fabric. She slowly extracted the whole dress from the package and stood up as it fell to the floor, hanging from both her hands.

Ginny whistled and looked up at Hermione's face. Her entire face showed amazement and she was simply put, awestruck at the dress.

As Hermione kept gaping at the dress, Ginny stood up and ushered her to the nearest dressing stall. "Try that beauty on!" she gushed.

In the rush to put on the dress and show her friend, Hermione completely forgot to look herself in the mirror, which is a good think or else her face would've been glued to her own reflection. As she stepped out of the stall, Ginny's own mouth gaped open and Hermione immediately felt self-conscious.

"Too much skin?" she asked timidly.

"Are you crazy, woman? It's perfect! It's like it was made for you!"

Hermione finally turned around and looked at her reflection. She indeed stared at herself as she saw that she filled out the dark gown quite nicely.

The dress itself fell to the floor in a mix of black lace and dark gray satin. The satin bodice underneath was covered with the lace and flared widely at Hermione's ankles. As it crept up her body, it hugged her hips and stomach where the pattern consisted of medium-sized floral design. A few designs hugged her breast area as the sleeves went over shoulders and completed the sheer neckline. The overall look was one of elegance and sophistication.

"A few wizards are going to drop dead if you wear that to the Gala," said Ginny as she inspected the dress closer. She whistled again as Hermione spun around with both her hands on either side of her body.

"I feel like a princess."

"Yet you look like a queen dear," Ms. Graphook had returned and was looking at Hermione with a motherly look. She nodded positively and clapped her hands together as she walked closer to the two girls.

"Shall I prepare it for you, Miss Granger, then?"

Hermione nodded, still dumbfounded at the beauty of the gown and went back to her dressing stall to change back into her clothes.

"So," Ginny started on the other side of the curtain. "Still keen on the idea of going to the Gala alone? Because I know a few wizards who would enjoy taking that piece of ass back to their flat at the end of the evening!"

"Oh gosh, you're so crass Gin!"

The red-haired witch laughed as she made her way to the counter.

Hermione followed a few minutes later and the two waited for Ms. Graphook to have the dress prepared. The older witch came back only a few moments later with the same gorgeous box and set it in Hermione's hands.

"How much, Madam," she asked politely.

"Payment has been arranged, my dear. No need to worry."

"But-"

"You heard the witch, Hermione. Say thank you and let's get you back home!" argued Ginny on the side of her.

"Merlin, Ginny, tell me you did not-"

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"You didn't have to pay that for me you little-"

"Hermione," Ginny started more slowly this time. She took her friend's hand and led her out the shop after she nodded her thanks to the owner. "Consider this an early birthday present! From Harry and me!"

Hermione stopped abruptly only a few steps in front of the shop and pulled on the hand Ginny was still holding.

"That dress was probably worth an entire month's salary! Ginevra Weasley Potter, I insist on paying that dress, now how much was it?"

"Nonsense Hermione. You should know the Potter vault at Gringotts can afford more than one of those gowns. Now shut up and be happy about your gift and let's get back to your flat. We still need to prepare for tonight and I am seriously craving some pickles right now!"

The two laughed at Ginny's last statement as they made their way down the street. Before apparating back to the flat, Hermione turned to her best friend and engulfed her in a hug. They then popped back to Hermione's flat and Ginny left after a quick snack, promising Hermione to seek her out later at the Gala.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong> :

Here is the 'link' to Hermione's dress. I had to put it on my pinterest board since I was struggling to upload the long original link, so just go in the board titled "Dresses" and it should be there! Just delete the 'periods' in the adress, including in the 'lamontak' and you should be good.

p.i.n.t.e.r.e.s.t.c.o.m./.l.a.m.o.n.t.a.k.

I thought it fit well with Hermione'sstyle and was simple yet a bit daring for our little Gryffindor princess.

Reviews ?


	5. Chapter 5

**Last chapter on Circa Mundi :**

Hermione followed a few minutes later and the two waited for Ms. Graphook to have the dress prepared. The older witch came back only a few moments later with the same gorgeous box and set it in Hermione's hands.

"Hermione," Ginny started. "Consider this an early birthday present! From Harry and me!"

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

A few hours later, after a long bath and some quick makeup charms, Hermione stood in front of her mirror, looking at her reflection. After a final touch-up to her hair, she nodded at herself and made her way to her entrance hall. She had charmed her hair in a romantic but lazy updo, a few errant strands framing her delicate face. Her eyes were accentuated by a smoky, dark-grey eyeliner and the mascara she had applied seemed to elongate her already thick lashes.

After a final, real final, look in the mirror that stood in her flat's entrance, she grabbed her wand and secured it to an invisible holster on her right thigh, and touched the tea-cup that had been magicked to be a portkey to her destination for the night.

When she popped in what seemed to be the Entrance Hall of where the Gala was held that night, Hermione's senses were attacked all at once. Many people were apparating out of every corner of the room, effectively stuffing everyone together. Music snared from invisible speakers, seeming to come from all sides of the hall. As witches and wizards popped in, they greeted each other in hugs, kisses, waves, screams and screeches of hello.

Quickly coming back to her senses, she made her way to what seemed to be the central corridor and followed the soft music that would surely lead her to the Gala's main hall for the night.

As she entered the room, she noticed a silence sweep over the already present crowd and almost all eyes were riveted on her at once. On the spot, Hermione started panicking with all the attention directed at her. Did she have something on her face? Was the dress too revealing?

She finally remembered how to walk it seemed and slowly put one foot in front of the other, trying to make out any familiar face as she walked towards the refreshment table. Many people were now openly gaping at her, many of the men in attendance seemingly forgetting they had brought dates. One of the witches to her left swatted her date upside the head so he would stop staring and as she noticed another wizard close to her winking, Hermione was sure she heard a wolf-whistle or two in the background. A few more seconds passed and she started trembling with the attention that was all now directed at her.

Finally, she was pulled out of her panicked state as she heard a familiar voice scream out her name.

"Hermione! Dear, come and join us!" bellowed Kingsley Shacklebolt from the other side of the room.

Hermione blushed bright red and quickly made her way to the Minister for Magic. After an exchange of kisses with Kingsley, the rest of the hall seemed to forget the latest addition to the hall and as fast as they had stopped, they all resumed their own conversations.

Kingsley introduced Hermione to the people that had been gathered around her. Still feeling a bit of her earlier panic, she struggled to remember all the names but managed to smile and politely made conversation with the ensemble of the troop. Only one of the wizards in their small gathering was still stuck on Hermione's appearance it seemed as he kept staring at her as if she were food. She quickly dismissed his look of hunger and brushed it aside, replacing her earlier thought with the fact that he might be awestruck at the fact that this wasn't in her usual wardrobe when seen out in public.

One conversation led to another, and another, and then another. Hermione finally regained the comfortable stance she usually had at these sorts of gatherings and events as she flowed from one group to the other, chatting away whoever was present. She even noticed a few Purebloods had taken the time to introduce themselves to her and some of the witches even complimented her on her gown.

As she laughed at a joke that Ernie Macmillan had just dropped, her current conversational partner, Kingsley stood up on a makeshift stage at the middle of the room and clapped his hands together. It took a few moments for silence to fall on the room, but laughter slowly died from all corners of the room and Kingsley motioned for the band to stop the music.

As the wizard stood behind a podium at the middle of the stage, all people who were of attendance made their way closer to the stage for what they knew would be one of Kingsley's annual Ministry speeches. The year after the war had ended, various people from around all wizarding London had thought it to be a good idea to devote an entire day to celebrating the defeat of Voldemort. And so the Ministry had held a parade through Diagon Alley, multiple events throughout the day to commemorate the people who had lost their lives, and finally, a ball at the end of the evening to celebrate the win and that those who had survived were still standing and were now allowed to enjoy life without the looming threat of Voldemort over their shoulders.

The members of the Golden Trio weren't the only ones that year who had had difficulty when attending that first event. Lavender Brown had a panic attack in the middle of the main course of supper. Justin Finch-Fetchley had nervously looked over his shoulders all evening and seemed to be twitching every few seconds or so. Ron had drunk so many firewhiskeys during the evening that he wiped out on the dancefloor after dessert. Even some of the Slytherins who had been of attendance had been nervous a jittery, Hermione remembered the looks that they had and the deepest bags that had been present under their eyes.

The weeks following that fateful day, petitions had been made and owls had been sent to the office of the Minister and after careful consideration, they had moved the event a few days later so that the annual Ministry ball wouldn't remind anyone of the end of the War. That way also, the Ministry could still use the event to serve thanks to citizens of their society who had done great throughout the year and raise funds for various charities.

Hermione still hated the event, as well as many others present that night.

The people around her pushed and swaggered around her as they all tried to shimmy closer to the Minister. This made it so that Hermione unintentionally stood first row to the stage and stood only a few feet to Kingsley's right. She looked around the first rows of the crowd and spotted Harry and Ginny not so far away from her. Ron was most probably further towards the back of the crowd as he detested any public appearances at these events and Hermione was sure his flavor of the month was probably on his arm, or in another case on his mouth, as Ron usually had the attention-span of a two year old when Kingsley started talking at these events.

"My fellow witches and wizards, welcome to the Annual Ministry Ball and Gala," Kingsley started with a wide smile. He looked around the room for a moment before taking on a more serious facial expression and starting back on his pre-made monologue. "As you all know, a lot can happen in the span of a year. Twelve months can seem so little when you think about a lifespan, but those months go by fast when they are spent delivering good to the people around you. As I bring your attention to the Charity of Seven-"

Hermione tuned out when Kingsley started talking about the different charities that had sprung from the ashes of the end of the war. Usually, he was able to magically persuade more than a dozen of the attendees to donate a hefty sum to these charities and he usually did so by talking about the most gruesome parts of what the people that benefit from the charity had to live through day to day. As the minister kept on talking, Hermione looked around the room again and noticed three young children sitting off the right side of the stage. The three young wizards had a bit of dirt stains on their clothing but had managed to clean up more than what they probably looked like during their everyday lives.

As the young witch kept on looking at the children, she was reminded of all the losses that children like them had felt. Many of those children were now without parents, some sent away to their aunts or uncles, or even grandparents, spread around Europe as Wizarding London had been left to recuperate after the War.

_Maybe I can seek out Neville later on and ask him about his orphanage. There must be something I can do to help those children, _she thought. As she craned her neck, looking around the crowd once more, Hermione was snapped out of her reverie as the crowd politely started clapping. _Must be those Wizarding Awards that are starting now, better pay more attention._

"And now the time has come to award three wizards with this year's greatest honors," resumed Kingsley at the front of the crowd. "These fine young men have done more than one act of greatness in the past years, and I sure am not the only one that must hope they will continue on their path. Many of you present in the room tonight have even benefitted from their generosity and some of you might not even know it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating the recipient of tonight's first distinction, the Wizarding Award for Excellence, one Mr. Draco Malfoy!" Kingsley cheered as the rest of the crowd burst in a fury of applause and cheer.

As the Minister said the name of the first awardee, time seemed to freeze for Hermione.

_Surely, he's joking. This… This can't be ?!_

She turned around and looked towards Harry and Ginny to see the couple smiling as Malfoy made his way to the stage. Ginny even put her fingers to her mouth to whistle at him, Malfoy smirking back at the youngest Weasley as he now stood behind the podium, with Kingsley standing a little ways to his left.

Hermione snorted and shook her head, pinching her own arm in the process. _Wizarding London has gone crazy._

"Thank you, fellow Wizards and Witches," Malfoy started. The crowd's applaud finally diminished to a silence as he cleared his throat. "First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother, for guiding me towards the light," at this, he winked to an older witch that Hermione assumed was his mother. The crowd laughed at his joke and they politely clapped again. At the middle of the room was Narcissa Malfoy, who seemed to be a changed woman also as she now downed long tresses of golden-brown hair. Her eyes held a peculiar sparkle as she looked straight on towards her only son.

"Also, I want to take a moment and use my time on this stage tonight to remind you of all the people that have suffered since the First War. Too many lives were lost, and too many people's day-to-day have changed. There will be a silent auction held in the next room for the remainder of the evening, I hope you will all take a few moments to remember everyone that we've lost but also, donate a few sickles at least for all the charities that are present tonight. I pledge that I will personally deliver all purchases from tonight's auction and engage myself in presenting the future owners with a little surprise of my own." He flashed a wide smile and a few witches in the room swooned. One of the women next to Hermione started fanning herself with her hand and Draco threw another wink in the crowd.

Hermione scoffed as Draco continue with his speech. Her outburst caused a few witches and wizards closest to her to turn around with confusion in their eyes. As she downed an expression of incredibility towards Draco, he squinted his eyes at her and resumed his speech.

"Last but not least, I would like to name a few people that without them, I would not be on this stage tonight. Some of them have not always been considered my friends, but I hope they allow me to use the term in speaking of them in the future. Some of the others have always stood by my side, and have helped me through all the good and bad times.

"Without further ado, I would like to thank Blaise Zabini, my brother from a different mother," the crowd laughed at the pun, "Pansy Parkinson, the most loyal person I've ever known," at this, Pansy blew a kiss up at Malfoy, "Theodore Nott, an honest and kind man, Cormac McLaggen, a formidable partner in crime, and last but not least, Harry Potter. My old school rival, the Boy Who Lived to Annoy Everyone, but also, the most generous wizard I've had the chance of meeting. We've not always seen eye to eye, but here's to hoping that our newfound friendship will last for years to come. I truly hope you'll continue to grace me with your most-aggravating presence, but know that all that you've done to help me is truly, from the bottom of my heart, appreciated more than you think."

Harry grinned from the bottom of the stage and took a few steps to extend a hand to Malfoy, who leaned down and joined him in a brotherly sort of exchange.

As Draco finished, the crowd politely clapped their hands at his words, a few loud bellows of cheers were heard to Hermione's right, most probably Blaise and Pansy, and Kingsley retook place behind the podium as Draco walked to a chair on the side of the stage.

Kingsley proceeded to award another two wizards with similar awards and the whole time they thanked their crowd, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. As she looked around the room, she wasn't able to find the source of the discomfort. However, when her eyes landed back on the stage, she noticed Draco glaring at her one in one of the most hateful ways. She couldn't help but shiver as his eyes held her gaze and he narrowed his eyes at her.

After the two other wizards finished each of their own speeches and as the crowd once again roared with applause and cheer, Kingsley made his way once more to the center of the stage.

"Thank you once again for your attendance tonight. Words will never be enough to remind these three young wizards of our gratitude towards them for their actions since the end of the War. Now, let us all come together in enjoying more than a sip of London's finest ale as well as some musical delight from tonight's band, The Screeching Wands. Before I leave you all to your own activities, I would like to remind you of the silent auction in the Grand Hall, first door on your right in the outer corridor, and that all proceeds coming from tonight's purchases will be donated to St-Mungo's, courtesy of one young Mr. Malfoy. Now, let us dance!"

As he finished talking, Kingsley waved his hands in front of him in a gesture that reminded Hermione much of Albus Dumbledore's own sweep of hands and as witches and wizards alike spread across the room, couples slowly made their way to the dance floor and joined together as the band for the night once more started their melody.

As the crowd around her started to mingle around with each other, Hermione's gaze brushed on a few familiar faces. She recognized Neville and Padma a few paces to her side and slowly made her way towards them. As she arrived near the group, Neville recognized her and so dropped the arm he had draped around Padma's middle and took two long strides to engulf her in a hug.

"Dear Merlin Neville, you haven't changed a bit!" She laughed in his shoulder. Neville spun her around a few times and then took a step back to look at her as he put her down.

"My dear Hermione. How I missed you so," he said as he took hold of her right arm and led her back to the group of people he had been chatting with. As they neared the gathering, Neville extended his hand back to Padma and bowed back towards Hermione.

"Hermione, may I officially present to you, Mrs. Padma Longbottom."

"Oh Neville, congratulations! Padma, it's nice to see you again! Oh guys, I'm really happy for you!"

"Thanks Hermione, it means a lot to us. You know, as hot as a wizard this one is, I couldn't very well leave him galley around all those young Hogwarts witches without them knowing he was taken!" exclaimed Padma as she kissed one of Neville's cheek. He blushed a bright shade of red as he smiled back at his wife.

"Guys, I didn't even know you were engaged," said Hermione as she grinned happily at the couple.

"Miss Granger, I assume you miss out on a few pieces of hot gossip while you're out and away on those mysterious projects of yours," said a black-haired wizard to the side of Padma.

"Oh! Um, I do believe we have never had the chance to meet?" asked Hermione as she extended a hand towards the man.

Beside them, Neville chuckled and Padma kept on smiling as both had their eyes riveted on the duo.

"We've already met, so to speak, although under more dire circumstances."

Hermione only raised an eyebrow in confusion as the wizard slowly bowed in front of her, taking her hand in one of his own and placing a chaste kiss on the top of her knuckles.

"Hermione, don't be ridiculous," exclaimed Padma. As Hermione blushed, the wizard slowly but surely let go of her hand and she turned to look at the other witch. "Surely, you remember Theodore from school, no?"

At the name of the old Slytherin student, Hermione's eyebrows shot straight through her hairline and she snapped her head back towards Theo.

"Oh?"

Neville seemed to be the one to notice the awkwardness of the exchange and quickly started speaking again.

"Don't let his old school colors and cold-hearted attitude fool you, Hermione. Theodore has done this society much good lately. Speaking of, tell me you have a bit of free time before you leave and that you'd be willing to come visit the orphanage?" He asked with a smile so sweet, Hermione could only nod back.

The room suddenly seemed to be way too warm for Hermione's liking.

"Is everything ok, Miss Granger?" asked Theo sweetly as he put a hand on Hermione's left arm. The witch seemed to be focusing on her breathing.

After a few seconds in her daze, Hermione shook her head and snapped out of her bubble.

"Yes, um, you'll have to excuse me, I think I need a drink," Hermione said as she excused herself from the group and headed towards the long table that presented a wide array of refreshments.

As she picked up a glass of champagne, she turned to lean on the wall beside the table and looked at the dance floor. Finally regaining control of her breathing, she saw Harry and Ginny thoroughly enjoying themselves and also recognized Blaise and Pansy a little ways to the left. It wasn't long before her first champagne glass was finished and she extended a hand to take a pick up a second drink.

A few minutes later, a cough sounded behind her and she whirred around in surprise. Theodore Nott was standing a few paces near her and as she looked at him, his lips turned upwards in one of the most dazzlingly charming smiles.

"Mr. Nott," Hermione nodded towards him. He smiled once more and made his way closer toward her.

"Hermione, I think we can let go of last names, at least for the evening."

"Why Theodore, I didn't even think you'd be able to stand the presence of a muggle-born witch for a few minutes, let alone call one by her first name," the witch challenged with a raised eyebrow. Theo looked her in the eyes and suddenly roared a deep laugh. Hermione couldn't help but admire his strong features and charming face as she joined in the contagious laugh. The tension from their previous awkward exchange seemed to dissipate and Hermione smiled back at him. It seemed the wizarding alcohol was stronger than she had thought and the beverages seemed to be helping with her mood towards her once upon a time childhood rival.

"You'll have to excuse me, I think I've had one too many drinks," she said as she out her now-empty glass back on the refreshment table.

Theo chuckled again and got closer to her discreetly.

"Indeed, this champagne is stronger than I'd like to admit. Though onto a more serious topic, Hermione, I would like to extend to you my most sincere apologies."

Hermione only raised an eyebrow and tried her best to concentrate at his words.

"Honestly, I know that a mere 'sorry' will not excuse the words I've used against you when we were children, but I do hope one day you'll be able to think about forgiving me for my past. I've always thought of you as a strong, intelligent witch and I think if you'd be willing to put our past behind us for a time, we could form a formidable partnership. Neville told me you could be of great help to aid me in finding new ways to find funds for the orphanage."

Hermione gaped at the wizard in front of her for the second time that evening. To say she had been rendered speechless was an understatement.

"Usually this is where you say, 'I forgive you Theo', but I guess it would be too easy to earn the forgiveness of the Gryffindor Princess in only a few minutes, no?" and he laughed again. Hermione looked at him with the most peculiar expression and joined him again in laughter.

"Alright Miss Granger, I'll prove you my changed ways then. Join me on the dancefloor?" he said as he extended his hand to her.

Theo stood before her with one of those smiles and Hermione couldn't help but think of the absurdity of their whole conversation. 'One dance couldn't hurt, could it?' And anyways, it had been a long time since she had found herself in the arms of a wizard as handsome as Theo.

"One dance it is then, Mr. Nott," she smiled at him as she took his hand. He then led her to the center of the hall and their bodies joined in a familiar hold as he started to sway them to the rhythm of the music.

As they twisted and turned around the dance floor, Hermione could tell they were gathering more than one pair of eyes on upon themselves. But in that moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. If all Slytherins acted as chivalrous as Theo had, maybe they weren't all that bad, she thought to herself as he spun her away from his body and back again. As the beat of the music changed tones and the wizarding band led the hall to another song, Theo looked at Hermione questioningly and she nodded to him, silently accepting the offer of a second dance.

Halfway through that song, the familiar feeling of being watched returned to Hermione. The people that had originally stared at them as they had started to dance were now back to their mingling but Hermione couldn't help but feel a gaze on her still.

As Theo twisted her once again, she found the source of her discomfort in a pair of silver eyes, a few feet next to them.

There, Draco Malfoy danced gracefully with a small, exotic looking witch. His partner had the longest black hair Hermione had ever seen and wore the most-expensive looking dark-blue gown. However, it seemed the witch's attire didn't do anything in keeping Malfoy's interest as he had been glaring at Hermione across the dancefloor for the last thirty seconds. As she held his gaze, she raised her eyes to the ceiling and scoffed silently at him while he narrowed his eyes and visibly held his own date harder.

Hermione then purposefully took the lead in her dance with Theo and led them to a more secluded corner of the dancefloor. After a third song, the couple finally stepped off the floor and made their way back to the table that was still full of drinks.

"Well, I don't know if you've ridded yourself of that Slytherin behavior but I have to say Mr. Nott, you sure know how to make a witch dance," exclaimed Hermione with a coy smile.

"Please Hermione, call me Theo. That Mr. Nott crap is reserved for my father, and well, let's just say he's serving a well-deserved stay in Azkaban."

Hermione laughed and nodded her head towards him. Theo stood by her side and flashed her another smile. The young wizard she had known from school had sure grown out of his puberty years as he now stood a little over 6 feet tall, with a dark complexion that matched his deep blue eyes perfectly. His hair was brushed off to one side messily, but she found it quite fit him well. As she admired her companion's physique, she started to wonder, was it just her or was the room was getting hotter every second?

"Well then, Theo, you'll have to excuse me, I'm just going to go get a bit of fresh air. All that dancing has made me quite hot."

"Indeed it has Hermione," he said as he winked at her.

_Oh dear, is he flirting? _she thought as she felt a faint blush creep up on her cheeks. He seemed to notice her discomfort as he leaned to kiss one of her cheeks and whispered in one of her ears. "Anyways, I'm off to the men's room. But all in all, Hermione, it was good to see you again. I sure hope you'll pass by the orphanage this week if your schedule allows it."

Hermione stood speechless once again as the wizard in front of her smiled and gracefully left the room. After a few seconds, she seemed to regain control of her body and willed herself to walk outside of the hall.

As she made her way along the corridor she looked around at the paintings adorning the walls. She walked for a few minutes before feeling her body temperature was back to normal. It was starting to get quite late anyways, maybe she could go back to the ballroom and bid her goodbyes to her friends and leave for her flat. That way, she could get a bit of work done if she got up early the next morning. Yes, great idea that was!

Hermione twirled around to finally really take a serious look at her surroundings and found she didn't remember coming down this hall. It was only the third year the Ministry held their event at this gallery and Hermione had unfortunately missed the last two, so she didn't know her way around. She twisted and turned around the halls for a few minutes before reaching a hall that seemed familiar. As she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the paintings she recognized from earlier, she felt two strong hands grab her middle and felt herself being pulled away into a dark alcove on the side.

"Oomph," she managed to call out against the hand that was now strapped to her mouth.

Hermione struggled against the body that stood very close to her own and after a moment, her back was pushed up on the cold wall behind her.

"Relax, will you Granger! I'm not trying to hurt you," muffled a voice only too familiar. The hands that held her in her place finally retracted from her body and as her eyes adjusted to the more darkened surroundings, she gazed into the eyes of her assaulter.

"Malfoy, what the hell? You fancy a trip back to Azkaban in return of man-handling me?"

He chuckled as he crept closer to her. As he leaned in to her small frame, she could smell the alcohol lingering on his breath. "As if accidentally groping you would send me to Azkaban you little witch, you."

"Ugh, Malfoy! Get away! Oh and maybe get a sober-up potion while you're at it."

"Well it sure didn't seem to bother you when another Slytherin grabbed at your body earlier on the dancefloor," he spat at her as all the familiar malice returned to his voice. As his eyes steeled onto Hermione's, he seemed like he had instantly sobered up.

"What's it to you anyways," Hermione retorted as she tried pushing him away.

As she tried forcing his body away from hers, Malfoy only seemed to gain in strength as he pushed her back against the wall another time. Now however, his body was flush against her own as he forcefully pinned her hands on either side of her hips.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about who's touching your body Granger, I just wanted to serve you a little warning anyways."

Hermione focused on her breathing as she felt every inch of his body on hers. He stood more than a foot taller than her but his frame was of the athletic build and she could feel his muscles through the thin fabric of each of their own garments. Although it might have been the mighty ferret prince that was currently pushed up on her, Hermione couldn't help her body's own reaction to the feel of Malfoy's. His strong chest was pushing on exactly the right place, just above her breasts and-

"-ridicules me in public!" he said as he interrupted her train of thoughts, and just at the right time Hermione thought.

"What?" she said, confused as she noticed she had missed a few of his words.

"Merlin, Granger, do you never listen when people talk? I was saying that you had better improve control over your emotions. No one ridicules me in public like you did there just earlier. I've worked shit-hard over the last years and I won't stand by and let you ruin it because of your little golden girl reputation, you hear me?"

He leaned in even closer to Hermione's face, if that was even possible, and he whispered the last words as he looked intensely into her deep-brown eyes. Hermione breathed deeply, struggling as her chest was still being squeezed by Malfoy's bigger frame. As she took a deep intake of breath, she felt her breasts glazing against his chest.

Malfoy's eyes seemed to close out of his own accord and his jaw squeezed firmly as he seemed to be concentrating on something.

"You have some nerve, Malfoy, to accost me in the hallway like this and threaten me!"

"I'm not threatening you, Hermione," he said with a softened voice, his eyes still shut tight.

"Yes, you are! In fact, everyone's so keen on the fact that you've changed, but I can clearly see through your-"

He interrupted her outburst by crushing his lips on her own. As his lips hungrily moved on hers, his hands slowly let go of her wrists and latched themselves onto her hips, scrunching up the lacy fabric of her dress. Hermione stood frozen on the spot, still not clearly realizing what was happening and if it was indeed reality or some sort of dream-like illusion that the champagne she had indulged in earlier was producing.

And then it happened as quickly as Malfoy had kissed her.

WHACK!

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong> : Cliffhanger, anyone?


	6. Chapter 6

**Last chapter on Circa Mundi : **

"You have some nerve, Malfoy, to accost me in this hallway like this and threaten me!"

And then it happened as quickly as Malfoy had kissed her.

WHACK!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Malfoy stumbled back as the blow of Hermione's hand hit him square in the cheek. Seconds passed as both of them stood in silence, each one staring at the other in disbelief, before Malfoy finally shook his head, apparently coming out of his daze.

He slowly took a step back, and another, as his eyes blinked rapidly.

"Oh bloody hell… I… Oh, fuck!" he almost shouted, shaking his head as he abruptly left the dark alcove. Hermione stood still in her spot, willing herself to move.

_What … The … Hell ? _she thought as she leaned against the wall in the darkened hallway. She shook her head and smoothed out her dress, the feeling of Malfoy's lips still lingering on her own. As she made way back to the hall were the Gala was still going strong, she remembered the feel of Malfoy's body against hers. His body had felt so strong and solid against her own tiny frame, and even as he man-handled her in the alcove, she had noticed a change in his demeanor as he talked to her.

Cold, steel-like silver eyes had transformed to pools of a lusty dark grey.

His usual frigid stance had melted away to a more lustful posture.

_Hermione, stop !_ a little voice inside her head screamed. _Even if he's stunningly handsome, he's still slimy ferret-faced Malfoy!_

Rolling her eyes to herself, she turned another corner to the final corridor that would lead her back to the Gala when a silvery cloud ran straight to her.

She recognized Harry's patronus at once and panic shot to her heart.

Was everyone all right? Had anyone been attacked? Did she miss out on something while she was snogging Malfoy? No, technically, he had been snogging her, not the other way around…

_**Hermione, it's happening. Come to St-Mungo's, NOW! **_

The silver stag slowly dissolved itself in front of her as she struggled to make out the message he had given her.

What was happening? Why had anyone been sent to St-Mungo's?

And as quickly as her last thought escaped her, realization hit her at once.

_Ginny! Oh Merlin, the baby!_

Quickly, Hermione lifted each side of her dress with her hands and started sprinting as quickly as she could back to the entrance hall where she could safely disapparate. She was reminded of the safety measures the Ministry had put up on all their events, such as being only able to apparate and disapparate from one room such as the Entrance Hall, and she couldn't help but think that they were going barmy trying to mother everyone so much. Right now, they were putting an extra obstacle in between her exiting and getting to her best friend as quickly as possible and it frustrated her to no point.

Finally reaching the hall, she squeezed her wand in her hand and disappeared with a _pop_ while picturing her destination.

Few seconds later, she was once again sprinting down corridors, many medi-witches and wizards sending glares and disapproving looks her way, but she couldn't care less. Finally reaching the pregnancy and labor ward, she slowed her run to be able to make out the names on each room. Just as she was starting to lose her patience, a familiar red-head turned a corner just up ahead of her and called out her name.

"Herms! Up here!" called George as he fumbled with the many cups of coffee he was dangling in his arms. Hermione quickly made her way to him and took two of the cups in her own hands so he wouldn't spill anything.

"Oh lord! George, please tell me I didn't miss anything? Is he out yet? Is Ginny alright? Is the baby healthy?" Hermione assaulted George with her many questions.

He only laughed in response, seeming way too calm for his sister's current situation.

"Calm down Herms. I swear, you should be an auror with that interrogation skill you have."

Hermione glared at him in response. "George! Ginny… Is she…?"

This wasn't the first time Hermione had visited St-Mungo's because of a newborn little Weasley, but it just so happened that it was now two of her best friends that were soon to be parents and all her reason and usual calmness had now left her body.

"Come on, let's get you to the waiting room," George said as he walked down the corridor with Hermione in tow. "Everyone is just fine. Apparently, her water broke at the Gala and we should be seeing the little Mister Potter in the next few hours."

"But, isn't it a bit early for her to be in labor? I thought she was only due at the end of the month?"

George nodded, "Indeed, but do remember this is Harry's son. We couldn't expect the little one to already be following rules now, could we? What with Harry's background, and Ginny's stubbornness…"

Hermione laughed and elbowed him, almost causing him to drop the coffees on the floor.

"Only you George, could be joking at a time like this!"

He chuckled also as they finally entered the waiting room. Many people called out Hermione's name at once and she smiled at the whole Weasley family sitting in front of her. She made her way around the room, hugs and kisses being distributed to pretty much everyone, and two hot cups of coffee handed over to Arthur and Molly.

She finally sat down next to Ron as she noticed another familiar face, dark-haired instead bright-orange.

"Is that Zabini?" she asked to her friend. Ron only nodded and kept wringing his hands together. Hermione lifted an eyebrow at Ron's unusual calm demeanor. "Are you ok?" she asked him again.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm going to be an uncle in a few hours."

"Ron, seriously. You're already an uncle!"

He laughed and finally turned to look at Hermione. His shoulders were stiff and his whole body seemed tense with anticipation.

"I know Hermione, but this is Harry's firstborn. It just makes it seem all the more real. And Ginny's, she's my baby sister."

Hermione nodded, Ron's thoughts much similar to the ones she was having earlier. None of the people in the room had thought any of this could be actually happening only a few years back when they had been fighting against Voldemort. They hadn't even been sure to live through it all and now everyone was starting their own family and going on with their lives as happy as could be. The thought brought tears to her eyes. As she sniffled, Ron put an arm around her shoulders in a friendly, brotherly way. The two hadn't worked out as a couple but their friendship was now stronger than ever.

"Anyways, I don't know how Zabini got the memo, but he was here only a few minutes after we all arrived. You know that he's Ginny's replacement at Hogwarts, right?"

Hermione nodded, recognizing Ron's change of subject as his usual way to stop her tears from flowing.

"Yes, Ginny told me this week. Still, I didn't know they were that close that he'd come to the hospital."

"Yeah well, they've been spending a lot of time together during the last year. Between Blaise's visits at first to Ginny's classes, to her finally recommending him to be her replacement and then planning his courses. They've become good friends."

Hermione let Ron's words sink in, reminding her once more that she had missed a few things while she was gone on her various trips. Guilt finally settled in and the tears came back to her eyes.

"I'm sorry Ron," she muttered as she dropped her head on his shoulder.

"For what, exactly?"

"For not being here. For missing out on everything. Not being able to criticize your girlfriends," he laughed, "but mostly, for being a bad friend these last years. I can't promise anything, but I will try and be home more often now."

Ron reached down and squeezed her hand.

"Don't worry 'Mione, we know work is important for you. And anyways, you being here to judge my girlfriends would only drive them away quicker."

The pair laughed and Hermione finally relaxed into Ron's embrace as she wiped her tears away.

* * *

><p>Four hours later, in the wee hours of the night, the Weasley family, Hermione and Blaise were still in the waiting room. Only George had left not that long ago to check up on Angelina and his sons and had told everyone he would be back soon. Ron had fallen asleep, his body spread out clumsily on three chairs and Charlie and Bill had left a few minutes ago for another coffee run.<p>

After deciding to chase away the giant pink elephant in the room, Hermione mustered some of her Gryffindor courage and had taken up a seat close to Blaise to strike him up a conversation. It had been awkward at first, Hermione's reserve almost getting in the way of their exchange, but Blaise's relaxed attitude had calmed her nerves and the two had been chatting away for a while. For a Slytherin, Hermione was surprised at his level of comfort from being in a room full of Weasleys.

"I think I would have to say my favorite is Cinderella," said Hermione quietly to Blaise.

He chuckled in response. "Of course Cinderella would be your favorite!"

The pair were currently discussing their favorite tales from the Brothers Grimm to pass the time, awaiting more news from the expecting couple.

"Oh! And why would that be, O wise one ?"

"Granger, you're the epitome of innocence. Gryffindor's Princess, all that is good and plenty of hope.I'm pretty sure it's written in the sky that you'd go for a fairy tale such as Cincerella ! Though, I wouldn't have pegged you for the one to wish for one of those sappy princess-y fairy tale endings ?"

Hermione huffed and swatted Blaise's arm.

"It would be wise not to presume you know me, Mr. Zabini."

"Oh?" Was all that he said back with a smirk and a lifted eyebrow in her direction. At this, Hermione couldn't help but smile back.

"Indeed… You know nothing, Jon Snow!"

Blaise let out a hallow laugh, causing Ron to stir in his sleep at the far end of the room.

"I can see you also know your R.R. Martin," he said.

Hermione couldn't hide her surprise.

"You know R.R. Martin?" She asked incredulously.

"Eh, I've read his 'Song of Ice and Fire' series and a few other of his works. Great author that man!"

Hermione was still staring, unable to form words after Blaise's apparent praise to a very well-known muggle author. As he noticed her expression, he answered the unspoken question that was on the tip of her tongue.

"Malfoy Manor has one of the biggest collections of literature I've ever seen, muggle works included. You should ask Draco to visit one day, I'm sure he'd be glad to exchange some of his favorites with you. I'm pretty sure you guys must've read at least half of the world's books between you two."

Just as the words came out, Blaise laughed at his own words, picturing Hermione and Draco calmly discussing books over coffee and tea. Hermione blushed, her own line of thoughts similar to Blaise's and she averted her eyes to look back at the closed door of the waiting room.

"That... That would be-" she started, but was cut-off when Ron took a loud intake of air, apparently waking from his sleep on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, the door opened and Bill and Charlie came back in, each carrying a tray of coffee in their hands. George was following closely behind, back from his short trip to verify that Angelina had everything under control at home. He was talking with two very familiar people that Hermione couldn't understand for the life of her, were doing at the hospital.

"Parkinson? Malfoy?" Hermione let out louder than she had intended.

Pansy looked around the room at the sound of Hermione's voice. She moved closer to her and Blaise and kissed him on the cheek, then nodded back at her.

"Granger, hey," greeted the female Slytherin.

"Hi," she responded, unsure of how to proceed further than their usual greeting.

Hermione and Pansy had had encounters before, during Hermione's short visits back home. The two witches had always acknowledged each other when crossing paths in the past years but to say they were on friendly terms was quite a bit generous. A customary 'hey' was often exchanged but never more, though as Hermione looked at the witch to her side, she couldn't help but think back to Ginny's words earlier that week and wonder if there was more to Pansy than she knew.

On the other side of the room, Malfoy stood in the doorframe, still frozen and most probably wondering if he had made a mistake or no in coming to visit the Potters.

Hermione looked over Pansy's shoulder to glare at the other newcomer, opening her mouth to let out a string of colorful words that never had a chance to be heard.

"You little slimy-"

As soon as she had let the words out, Malfoy was roughly pushed to the side and Harry burst through the open door, his cheeks bright red and his hair as unruly as ever. Molly and Arthur shot up from their seats and instantly, everyone took a step closer to the Boy-Who-Lived.

"I'm a father! As of five minutes ago, I'm a father!" He let out excidetely, rushing to throw his arms around Hermione, who had been the closest to him.

Ron finally woke up at all the sound and took a few long strides to join the group hug, Molly let out a motherly cry of joy, George and Arthur simultaneously let out sighs of relief, Bill and Charlie clapped their hands together in a 'hi-5' gesture, Pansy nudged Blaise with a grin and Draco smiled at the hugging trio.

Hermione laughed at Harry's reaction and hugged him even harder. As the three untangled themselves from the hug, Hermione raised a hand to wipe the tears of joy that had fallen from her eyes and looked back at her best friend of over fifteen years.

All of a sudden, Harry froze and his expression became serious all of a sudden.

"I'm a father," he repeated numbly. "Oh lord."

Hermione laughed again at his expression and took hold of his shoulders.

"You'll be great Harry, don't you worry. I've got you. We've got you," she said with a smile as she gestured around the room.

He looked around slowly, noticing the entire room's attention was fixed on him. Molly finally took a few steps forward to engulf Harry in an embrace, Arthur following closely behind. The next minutes were filled with congratulations and hugs and claps on the back as Harry made his way around the room. Even Blaise and Draco seemed genuinely happy for Harry as they exchanged firm handshakes.

"If you all don't mind, I think Molly and Arthur should be the first ones to see baby James," said Harry after all the chaos calmed down. The room nodded and the Weasley parents followed him out the door.

The rest of the room calmly began chattering away about the newborn and Hermione had every intention of letting Malfoy know once again how preposterous his actions at the Gala had been when here muggle cellphone rang loudly.

Everyone turned at once in her direction, not everyone understanding where the beeping sound was coming from.

"You'll have to excuse me all," Hermione said with her shoulders dropped. She only needed two minutes with Malfoy so she could give him a piece of her mind.

She exited the waiting room as she picked up the call. "Jackson? Why are you calling me at three in the morning? – Oh? – Ok, yes, I understand. – But why India? Hmm, I see."

Hermione was pacing back and forth in front of the waiting room, now fully concentrated on the phone call from one of her colleagues and missing out on the blond-haired git that was now staring at her, resting his body on the wall in the corridor.

Jackson had always been Hermione's favorite colleague of hers. They had met during one of her first trips during her internship with Avery Bode and the pair had hit it off instantly. Jackson was a year older than her and had been a student at the Durmstrang academy, being of Finnish origins, and had been travelling around Europe since the end of his studies. His wit and quick-response had much impressed Hermione and two years after their initial encounter, she had tracked him down to offer him a partnership of sorts. Since then, they had been on numerous escapades and he was now Hermione's second in dealing with the discovery of the mysterious runes in Egypt.

"- _Lupici_? No, I've never heard of them – Ok, yes, but you'll have to let me call you back in a few hours, I'm at the hospital – Yes! He just came out a few minutes ago! – Of course, I'll let them know – Alright, talk to you soon Jake."

Hermione was still pacing intensely as she hung up on Jackson and failed to notice Draco tense up a few feet from her.

"You're dealing with very dangerous people Granger, if I heard that name correctly," he said as he finally made his presence known.

Instantly, Hermione froze on the spot and turned around slowly to look towards the source of her distress.

"Malfoy, what in the name-"

"The Lupici gang are a very dangerous, dark association from Eastern Europe. Their name loosely translates to _burglars _in the Czech language and they are notoriously known for the thefts of dark and highly coveted artefacts. Whatever your business with them, I suggest you be careful."

Hermione stared coldly at Draco, trying to make sense of his words and at the same time, wondering if she should thank him for that tidbit of information or slap him again for his earlier performance at the gala.

"Oh and I wanted to tell you, that kiss wasn't intentional," he continued. He took a slow step forward, deciphering Hermione's level of anger and wondering if she would curse him or not. "I had one drink too many and my hormones got the best of me. Won't happen again."

Once again, it seemed that was the closest Hermione was getting to an apology coming from Malfoy.

She shook herself out of her frozen state and calmly marched towards him, pointing a finger at his chest when she was in front of him.

"You're just lucky I can't curse you right now and also, since this is supposed to be a happy moment, I'll forget about what happened. But one more misstep like that Malfoy and you'll be screaming for your mommy in the psychiatric ward after I'm done with you."

Hermione jabbed her finger one last time on his chest to put emphasis on her words and stormed back into the waiting room, leaving Malfoy to gape at her threat.

* * *

><p>After meeting little James a few minutes later, Hermione had bid her goodbyes to everyone present and apparated back to her flat. Ginny and Harry would need their rest anyways after that eventful night and she had sworn to her best friends that she would visit them this week when they were back in the comfort of their home.<p>

Upon arriving, she glanced at the clock that hung high on the wall of her study and wondered what would be the best course of action.

Nap for a few hours than research that Lupici gang.

_Or_, make herself a pot of coffee and research right away.

She _had _told Jackson she would call him back in a few hours time,_ and_ sleep could always wait till later.

Jackson had told her he had found a lead in their discovery anyways and Hermione knew she wouldn't get a minute of shut-eye if his lead meant a breakthrough in their research.

Finally making her way to the kitchen, she resigned herself to the fact that she would be spending another sleepless night researching. If Hagpipe wouldn't let them go back to the site in Egypt, she would at least make the best of her time home and research all the possibilities of what their discovery meant and they would return to the field with a few more tricks up their sleeves.

Pulling up her laptop on her dining room table, Hermione took a sip of her coffee as she waited for her internet to load. Three years earlier, during one of their field expeditions in Russia, she had made a breakthrough concerning the connection between muggle and magical appliances and had been successfully able to make a few of her muggle electronics work, even in the middle of a full magical community. Since then, she had procured a few computers and cell phones to her team, which made their work quite a bit easier when it came to researching.

As she searched the web for traces of the Lupici, she thought back to Malfoy's words. He had seemed to know quite a bit about them and curiosity almost caught the better of her as she wondered what exactly was Malfoy's field of work and why he had known that information.

Three mugs of coffee later, Hermione's hand watch beeped, signaling it was now 6am. She sighed in defeat, coming to the conclusion that she wouldn't find anything concerning the Lupici and what Jackson had mentioned over the phone. Once more, thoughts of a certain blond-haired wizard surfaced in her mind.

She could owl him and ask him for information.

That would mean stepping on her pride and admitting that he had known something she didn't.

She could also floo-call Hagpipe and ask if he had any knowledge about the group.

That would mean risking another stall on their leads and Hagpipe might get the wrong idea and prolong their stay in London.

_Bugger it all! _Hermione thought angrily as she stood up to pace the confines of her dining room.

As she debated all her options, she finally admitted defeat and made way to her study to pen a quick letter to Malfoy. Stepping on her pride just this once couldn't be so bad. And if it meant he knew something that would help with their project, Hermione was willing to put aside differences and find common neutral ground with her once upon a time enemy.

_DM,_

_Would you happen to have any detailed information containing the activities of the Lupici group and their recent activities?_

_HG_

The letter was simple and as professional as could be for their semblance of a 'relationship', or lack thereof. Hermione looked at her owl flying away in the distance and decided to award herself with a quick nap while waiting for his reply.

She didn't have to wait long as half an hour later, her owl hooted softly as he flew into the window and landed softly on the foot of the sofa she had been resting on. Blinking quickly and shaking the sleep from her eyes, Hermione stretched and patted her owl on the back as she untangled Malfoy's response from his paws.

_HG,_

_My information always comes at a price. _

_Floo to this address in an hour and we can discuss the exchange of our knowledge over coffee._

_DM_

Hermione rolled her eyes at the letter and stood up to make her way to the bathroom. Even if this was Draco Malfoy, king of the ferrets, she would at least make herself presentable in the case that anyone other than him would be present. As she put her hair in a tight bun, looking herself in the mirror, she reasoned that this could be deemed a professional work meeting and that was why she made the slightest bit of effort in her appearance.

* * *

><p>Dusting off her navy skirt as she made her way out of the fireplace she had flooed in, Hermione looked around the small room and took in her surroundings. She hadn't known what to expect from her meeting place with Malfoy but she had reasoned herself in saying that he wouldn't dare hurt her after her earlier threat, and he had another thing coming if he even dared insult her.<p>

The room she stood in was quite small but luxurious as dark-paneled wood adorned the floor and walls, a few paintings scattered around the room. The lighting was relatively soft and nothing stood out of the ordinary in what seemed to be a study that had been chosen as a floo-room.

Soft laughter could be heard down the hall from where Hermione now stood and the smell of freshly baked bread traced itself to her nose. Taking a deep intake, she shuttered as the heavenly aroma hit her instantly.

She finally willed her feet to move towards the direction of the sound she had heard and took a few steps to start down a dimly lit corridor. Hermione rounded a corner and the sound of laughter hit her again as she finally came face to face with the source of the noise.

Malfoy and an older lady sat around a small table in what looked to be a living room of sorts. The two were both laughing furiously and the older lady was wiping tears at her eyes, chuckling lightly. Hermione stood frozen, staring curiously at Malfoy, having never seen this side of him before. It was quite a difference with his usual façade and Hermione caught herself thinking he looked quite handsome when he laughed as he was doing now. As she shuffled on her feet, Malfoy finally became aware of her presence and immediately stopped laughing as he looked towards her. The woman sitting opposite him turned to look at the newcomer, raising an eyebrow in Hermione's direction.

"Oh, I guess I'll be leaving you two young ones now," she said as she made to get up from her chair.

Malfoy stood at the same time and extended his arm so that she would move in a more stable fashion.

"I'll escort you to the front, Rose," he said in a chivalrous way that made Hermione's eyes widen surprisingly at once. She couldn't quite believe this was the same man that had once bullied her throughout her school years.

"Nonsense, my darling boy. I wouldn't want to keep you a minute longer from the company of a beautiful witch such as Miss Granger." The woman smiled politely at Hermione as she tried to shake herself free from Draco's grip.

Hermione still stood dumbfounded at the whole scene, trying to remember if she had already seen this woman before and still not understanding where Malfoy's politeness was coming from.

"Rose, I insist. It's the least I can do to thank you for the bread," he said calmly as he walked his guest in the direction opposite Hermione, where another door stood. "Granger, make yourself comfortable. I'll be back in a few."

Malfoy and the older woman known as Rose made their way out of the room and left Hermione in her daze. Blinking a few times, Hermione shook herself from her state of non-belief and made her way to sit in the same chair the other woman had occupied a few minutes earlier.

Staring at the bread and coffee in front of her, Hermione took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves in preparation of the meeting that was to come with Malfoy. She didn't know what she should be expecting and she thought back to his earlier letter, wondering what he would ask of her in exchange for his knowledge on the Lupici.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note : This chapter was a bit longer than what I had originally planned. I know this isn't the ideal place to stop it but much is to come in the next and I wanted to give you a bit of suspense in guessing what Malfoy would ask of her.<strong>

**ALSO! I was thinking in the last few days if you guys would enjoy having a bit more of Draco's POV? Up until now, the story's been mostly centered around our favorite witch, but I can always try and please a few readers !;) Let me know what you all think!**

**Reviews ? :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Last chapter on Circa Mundi :**

"Granger, make yourself comfortable. I'll be back in a few."

Hermione took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves in preparation of the meeting that was to come with Malfoy. She didn't know what she should be expecting and she thought back to his earlier letter, wondering what he would ask of her in exchange for his knowledge on the Lupici.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

It had been a whole three minutes and thirty-two seconds since Malfoy had left the room to accompany his other guest out. Yes, Hermione had been counting the time, something she could always count on to calm her nerves. She had to admit, she found it odd that this Madam Rose had left in the opposite direction of the floo-room, or maybe Malfoy had more than one. Four minutes and thirteen seconds. She wondered if she was in Malfoy's flat, looking around at the room, noticing odd trinkets lingering around here and there. Taking note of the decor, she then wondered if it was indeed a flat or a house that Malfoy owned.

It was after five minutes and forty seconds that Malfoy finally returned to the room, calmly regaining the seat he had occupied earlier.

"Coffee, Granger?"

Hermione looked at him incredulously, wondering where all his politeness was coming from. She presumed he had left the hospital a few minutes only after her, yet after such a short night, Malfoy had still been able to look more put together than she would've after three hours of pampering.

"Um, yes sure..." She trailed off, brows furrowing together.

He proceeded to fill two cups with the steaming liquid, poured a bit of sugar in his and then pushed the tray closer to Hermione so that she was at liberty to put what she wanted in it. As he put his cup to his lips, he raised an eyebrow at her, blowing a short breathe on his coffee so that it would cool down.

"So, Granger, finally decided that even a deatheater's knowledge is worth something these days?"

Hermione dropped the spoon she had then been holding and narrowed her eyes at him, opening her mouth to reply.

"I'm kidding! It was just a joke Granger!" Malfoy bellowed quickly, seeing her somber expression. "As in humor? You do know of jokes, don't you?" He added sarcastically with a genuine smile.

Blink.

Blink, blink.

Hermione looked on at Malfoy, her face scrunching up in a very un-ladylike fashion. She finally let out a sigh as she picked her spoon back up and resumed her task of dropping sugar in her cup.

"You can cut the prince-charming act with me Malfoy, it won't work. Now, down to business."

"Still as bossy as ever, I see."

"The _**Lupici**_, Malfoy," she urged on, her patience quickly getting smaller and smaller.

He rolled his eyes in response, in a way that reminded Hermione much of herself. She found it quite disturbing being in his presence without his face bearing the usual smirk or sneer but withstood from placing any comment.

"Keep your pants on Granger, I've had as much sleep as you've probably had and before discussing business such as the Lupici, I'd enjoy getting another cup of coffee in me if you don't mind."

Hermione couldn't help but agree to his statement and so she raised her own mug to her lips, enjoying the heat she felt as the hot liquid poured down her throat. Malfoy finally downed the rest of his and exhaled loudly before speaking again.

"We've yet to discuss the price of my info, might I remind you-"

"What do you want," cut Hermione rather abruptly.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her answer and turned his head to look around the study. It was a few seconds of agonizing silence before he resumed speaking again.

"Granger, the things I want in this world have no price."

"Surely there's something I can give you in exchange for your ... Your ... Kn-knowledge?"

Malfoy smiled at Hermione's sudden obvious discomfort.

"I hear you've been digging around Egypt lately?" he asked.

"But- but how d-did you know that! That's confiden-"

"I have my ways, Granger."

She huffed in his direction, clearly confused at the fact that he knew more about her than she thought.

"Fine, but what the bloody hell does my research in Egypt have to do with what you'd want, anyways?"

He turned back to look at her, his expression undecipherable to Hermione.

"You do know what I do for a living, do you Granger," he challenged.

"Um..."

"That's what I thought."

"I... I know..."

"You could say I'm a historian, although that profession doesn't technically exist in our magical society."

"A _historian_? As in, like when_ muggles_ study History?" Hermione replied.

"You're smart Granger," he responded sarcastically with another smile. "Anyways, I understand there should be more than one magical artefact in that site of yours in Egypt?"

After a few seconds of staring him straight in the eyes, those beautiful, magical eyes, _'Uh what?',_ Hermione finally understood where he was going.

"You want me to bring you back something in exchange for what you know on the Lupici?"

He nodded.

Hermione thought for some time before answering. "You're out of your mind, Malfoy!"

"What's it to you! You don't do anything with what you find anyways!" He replied angrily as he stood up, now pacing around his study.

"You're only after profit! Always was, always will be!" She answered, standing abruptly also.

He whirred around and faced her, suddenly much too close for Hermione's liking. "When are you going to cut that 'I'm never going to change' crap, Granger? Huh? I thought you'd be the most forgiving one of the bunch. Turns out I was wrong."

She breathed deeply, coming to the realization that his closeness was having more effect on her body than she thought it would. Thoughts of his lips on hers resurfaced as she remembered this was the second time in so many days that they stood much closer than they had ever had.

In a sudden burst of confidence, she inched even closer to him, their noses almost touching, her deep brown golden eyes looking up at his own mercurial ones. "I'll believe you've changed Malfoy, when you show me," she said calmly.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes to look at her again. As close as Hermione stood before him, he could feel the small wisps of air she let out when she breathed. And, was that strawberry he was smelling?

"Then let me," he suddenly said as he took a step back and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Let me show you I've changed and let me come with you on your next excursion."

Hermione blinked once more, trying to make sense of his words.

He could prove to be useful.

That would mean stepping on her pride again and admitting he knew something more than her.

But he knew the Lupici and that could prove its worth if they met.

Then again, she'd have to endure his insufferable presence for a few days.

"I... I can't..." She started, as she looked into his eyes. It was the most genuine look Hermione had ever seen grace his features. His wide eyes made him look like a pleading child and while she stared straight at him, she felt as if she was gazing into his soul. During that fraction of a second, Hermione and Draco didn't exist anymore. They were only two people with no past, caught in what was a tight embrace yet a struggle for power as each looked at the other with a deep, meaningful expression.

"Just let me," he pleaded as one of his hands made its way from her shoulder to her neck. His hand felt warm against her skin and Hermione couldn't felt but shiver as she felt a jolt of electricity run from her neck to the rest of her body.

All of a sudden, she broke out of her trance, remembering who it was that was holding her and stumbled to take a step backwards.

Sure, by judging just the way he acted around her, he might've changed a bit. That didn't mean he didn't still think of her as the bucktooth mudblood Granger from Hogwarts. But all his actions since she had been back in town proved her otherwise.

What an enigma, that man!

"I can't just decide that alone, Malfoy! I need to consult my team!"

"Then by all means, Granger, do you want to use my owl? Better yet, I can go fetch my cellular phone, I'm sure that'll be quicker to get a hold of that Jackson fella you were talking to yesterday!"

Hermione stumbled back in surprise. He was far more observant than she gave him credit for if he remembered Jackson's name. Oh, and did he mention he had a muggle cell phone just now?

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "You'll have to give me a few days. I'll owl you."

As soon as she let out the words, she stormed back in the direction she remembered was the floo-room.

_What a git! _She thought angrily as she called out her address and threw herself into the fireplace.

* * *

><p>"I still don't understand why we have to go all the way to Western Arabia instead of him just floo-calling us!"<p>

"Hermione, you have to understand, these people don't lend their information to anyone. We have to gain their trust first."

Hermione huffed and threw her quill on the table in front of her. Jackson sat to her left at her dining room table and he raised an eyebrow at her suddenly childish behavior. It wasn't like her to act out when something didn't go her way.

The two were currently discussing a three-day excursion in Western Arabia, following Jackson's lead from his trip to India. He had just arrived the day before and had wasted no time in contacting his partner to tell her of the new plans.

"What's with the tantrum, Granger?" he asked with a smirk.

She snapped her head at him and glared in silence.

"Hmm, alright, fine then. Maybe I'll find myself another partner. Maybe one who's a bit more flexible on her task load then?"

"Alright, alright, I'll go."

"Great!" answered Jackson, clapping his hands together. "I leave tonight to go ahead and set up a few things, but your international portkey will be sent here tomorrow and departure will be ready for the day after, 7am. You should be getting there local time 10am, just follow indications to the lobby and I'll be there waiting for you."

"Um-"

"Also, there might be another advisor joining us."

"Ok, but-"

"I've gone ahead and scouted out some other people outside our team. You never know when a new intelligence could be of help! Oh! And then-"

"Jackson!" almost shouted Hermione.

Turning to look at her, he blushed and cast his eyes to the floor. Whenever he got excited concerning a particular project, he had the bad habit of suddenly gushing out all the information, although sometimes, not in the best of orders.

"I … Uh…" started Hermione.

"Yes?"

"Um… Never mind. I just… I wanted to know if I needed to bring anything in particular?"

"Ha! You're funny Granger, that's a good one! You practically carry around an entire muggle drugstore in that bag of yours!"

Jackson looked at her, grinning. She couldn't help it, knowing he was right, and joined him in enjoying a little joke at her expense. Finally, the other wizard stood up, gathering his papers.

"Good then, if everything's settled, I have to finish packing before my portkey leaves."

"Oh, I wanted to ask, who was that other advisor?" asked Hermione while helping him with the documents.

"Actually, there's nothing certain as of yet, so it wouldn't do any good even if I told you. Nevertheless, he's quite good in his field of expertise – we could really use the help."

"Oh. Alright, I guess."

"Great! Then I'll be seeing you in two days' time love," Jackson leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before grinning at her and apparating away.

Hermione smiled at the familiarity of his departing gesture. After a failed date little time after they had first met, the duo had agreed that they better worked has partners and co-workers, and not lovers. Jackson was a great man and Hermione could've seen herself with him in the long run, but there was just a little something missing. That little "oomph" her mother always told her her father had.

Since then, Jackson and Hermione had been pretty close and their friendship reminded Hermione much of Harry's and hers own.

Turning to look at the clock that hung on the wall opposite her, Hermione couldn't help but feel a stomach-ache come on, courtesy of not telling her partner the truth. She still wasn't sure about Malfoy's true intentions and had debated telling Jackson the whole time he had been in her flat.

Maybe she could tell him on their trip.

Maybe even when they came back.

Or maybe, just maybe, she could tell Malfoy _no_, and wouldn't have to tell Jackson anything.

_Bugger it all!_ She would be lying to herself if she didn't admit at least a small part of herself knew he could help them all on their current project. And with that Lupici gang looming just around the corner…

Snapping out of her daze, she finally outlined the rest of her day in her head and turned around to march straight to her room.

_Write to Malfoy._

_Write checklist for luggage._

_Buy gift for James._

_Visit Ginny and Harry._

Coming back to her flat not too late tonight, she could even finish taking notes down from all the books she had taken from the Hogwarts library and then wrap everything up tomorrow before leaving.

* * *

><p><em>DM,<em>

_Unexpected trip came up._

_Will have to get back to you at a later date._

_HG_

Draco Malfoy smiled to himself, sitting on the luxurious, navy-colored leather chair that sat in the middle of his quaint study.

That witch had another thing coming if she expected Draco Malfoy to just bend to anyone's wish and will and wait around some weeks when pertaining to any one of his propositions. Waving his wand elegantly, he summoned the quill closest to him and started penning a response on a new sheet of parchment.

Finally, staring back at the drying ink a few minutes later, he wondered if Hermione was the type of witch who usually preferred_surprises_ or _organisation_. He laughed at his own joke, knowing full well she was most probably the most organised person he had ever known, but smirked to himself as he finally burned up his reply.

"Ah, maybe she could do well with a surprise or two these days," Draco said aloud to himself with a chuckle.

He clapped his hands while he stood from his seat and started humming to himself as he made his way to his kitchen to start on his lunch.

* * *

><p>Hermione dusted her suit as she took a step forward into one of the many studies of the Potters' residence. She couldn't help but shiver as she looked around the room and took in her surroundings.<p>

The Golden Trio had made renovating 12 Grimmauld Place as one of their top priorities following the end of the war. Though the group had worked hard to change their minds and tried as best as they could to redecorate the old Black residence, it still felt as though there was a residual feel of dark magic anytime Hermione visited.

Shaking the dark thoughts from her mind, she made her way to the corridor and then down the familiar staircase as she called out Harry's name. As she put her foot down from the last of the stairs, she gasped when she saw a shadow appearing suddenly to her right.

"Hermione, shh!" Harry whispered ever so quietly. "We just put James down and Ginny's going to have a fit if he wakes right back up."

Hermione sighed, putting a hand up to her chest to calm her nerves. She looked to her friend and noticed the dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Do you even sleep, Harry?"

He laughed softly in response and wiggled one of his fingers, pleading her to follow him to the kitchen in silence. They entered the room and as soon as the door was closed, he put up a silencing charm on the room so as to not wake their newborn with any noise.

"Sleep! … You're funny!" he muttered, reaching to a cupboard for three mugs.

"I guess even the Boy Who Lived isn't a superhero if he's having a hard time sleeping because of his newborn," Hermione teased while she helped him prepare some coffee.

Harry poked her in the ribs and narrowed his eyes at her obvious jab at his war-hero title.

"Anyways," he started, stifling a yawn. "I thought you weren't due for a visit until next week?"

"Oh, can't I visit my best friend without following an agenda now?"

"Hermione, please. You always announce yourself when you visit. And that's without mentioning you floo-calling Ginny three hundred times to ask if you can bring something over."

"I like to be prepared!"

Harry scoffed. "Hermione, there has to be a reason you suddenly pop in un-announced, and especially with nothing to offer in the return of our hospitality."

Hermione's eyebrows shot through her hairline as she slapped Harry playfully on the arm. He laughed at his own joke while pouring the freshly made coffee in each of their mugs.

"It's just a joke Hermione! Come on, you need to re-familiarize yourself with a bit of humor now. Can't you recognize sarcasm anymore?"

Hermione sat herself at the table and was surprised to catch herself thinking of a certain wizard who had uttered similar words to her only so recently. Her demeanor suddenly changed as she was reminded of the primary reason of her visit.

"Fine … It's work," she answered her friend. Harry sat down opposite her and dawned a comical expression of mock-surprise.

"Surprise, surprise!"

"Oh shut it, you! We have a lead-"

"Hermine, you always have a lead. You always have a new project. You _always _have a reason of being out of town. What gives?"

The witch sighed as she looked to her best friend. He was right, she was rarely in town anymore and when she was, she was always busy and rarely spent some quality time with her friends.

"I've been discussing it with Ron recently, actually. I apologized to him yesterday night at the hospital for having been a ghost lately and I've sworn to myself that I'd try and be around more often now."

At this, Harry's expression changed and he smiled widely.

"That's great news 'Mione!"

"I said _try._ In the practical sense of the term, I can't promise anything, but I want to be around more. I have to admit, I think I've missed out on a lot between university and all the projects all around the world. I miss you all terribly."

"We miss you too!"

"And … I… I just can't help but shake the feeling that you guys have mo-moved on to a new group of fr-friends…"

Harry stared at her in disbelief, hardly believing her train of thought. Hermione hiccupped as she tried to swallow back down her tears.

"We haven't moved on Hermione, there's just been a lot of change since the war. You've just … You've missed out on a few things and the new friends we've made since, well … They can also be your friends if you give them the chance!"

"But Harry … Zabini? Parkinson? I mean … Those two, I can maybe try and accept that they've seen the light. I just… Even you have to admit they weren't that bad in school, just lost puppies shall we say? But now, Malfoy? I'm just having a hard time believ-"

"You need to give them a chance Hermione!"

"But-"

"No! Enough of all that Slytherin-Gryffindor Hogwarts bullcrap! People change and grow up, and you have to step on that ego of yours and face the fact that these people are not the same as when we grew up! It's been eight years Hermione, _eight years_!"

Hermione sat frigid in front of her best friend as he outright scolded her. He seemed to realise his outburst as he suddenly quieted down and downed his coffee with a big gulp.

"Hermione?" questioned another voice from the other end of the kitchen.

The pair sat at the table both turned to look at the origin of the noise and Hermione smiled as she recognised Ginny.

"What are you guys on about? It was all quiet one minute ago and suddenly, it was like two Weird Sisters groupies were arguing over which was the best-looking member of the band!"

Harry looked at the table in defeat when he realised his screaming must've made the Silencing Charm wear off. Hermione understood what had happened and waved her wand, putting a new charm up as she beckoned Ginny to sit down with them.

"Maybe I need another woman's opinion on this. Gin, what do you see in the Slytherins that make them so… I guess, friendly-looking now? And be honest!"

Ginny smiled at her friend's question and apparent disbelief at the transformation in attitude their former enemies had since the end of the war.

"Well, it didn't happen overnight. Remember the other day when I told you about how Malfoy 'apologised' to Ron?"

Hermione nodded and took another sip of her coffee.

"It kinda just came from everyone like that, a bit, I guess. Except Parkinson! We had a near shouting-match before she came to her senses and admitted her past wrongs."

The other witch couldn't help but smile as she remembered Ginny's account of their famous encounter in Diagon Alley.

"This might've been already said to you 'Mione but, you have to give them a chance. If they prove you otherwise, than you can go back to hating their asses, but you won't know until you try!"

Hermione mulled over her friend's words and finished her coffee. For an instant, she thought of telling them of her meeting with Draco, but a tiny voice inside her head told her it wasn't the time to. Maybe she and Ginny would have a girl's night when she came back and she could ask her for advice on his offer of partnership.

"Maybe you're right," she admitted to the couple. Harry smiled and Ginny put her hand over Hermione's.

"I always am," she replied with a squeeze.

"Oh please!"

"What! You know I am…" and she winked at Hermione.

The trio laughed at once and the familiarity of their usual gatherings settled in.

"Hm, before I forget, I actually _did _bring something Harry!" Hermione said as she struggled to get a hold of her bag. She dug around for a while before pulling a long box out of it and setting it on the table.

"A gift for my godson!" she exclaimed brightly.

Harry and Ginny both looked surprise at the sudden offering and both bickered about who got to open the present. Hermione laughed at their antics and willed herself to enjoy the presence of her friends before she went away.

The rest of the day was spent much in the same way. Harry and Ginny picked at each other while Hermione chuckled at the couple, James joined them after Harry had gotten him after his nap and overall, the three friends spent some good old fashion quality time together as they had always had in all their years knowing each other.

The sun had just set down when Hermione finally bid her goodbyes and promised to visit again when she came back from Arabia.

"I'll floo you as soon as I come back in town!" she bellowed as she stepped in the green flames.

"Take care!" Harry and Ginny both said as the same time as Hermione disappeared through the fireplace.

* * *

><p>The next day, Hermione was found sitting on her bed, going through a mental checklist of the items she needed for her short trip to Arabia. She had packed and unpacked her suitcase three times already and was considering doing it a fourth time but once glance at her watch told her she didn't have enough time.<p>

She had a wide assortment of hot-weather clothing and reassured herself that whatever it was she might've missed, Jackson would surely have something to spare.

Finally, she closed her suitcase and waved her wand twice, making it now the size of a golf ball, and put it in the usual bag she kept with her while travelling. Checking her watch again, she cursed as she became aware of the time she had left before her port key activated.

Running around her flat a few more minutes to grab some other essential items she might need, she gasped when she heard the usual 'ding' her portkey made from her entrance hall, signalling the portal would open in a minute only. She went through her checklist one last time and finally jogged to the portkey, touching it only seconds before it deactivated.

After a few minutes of the nauseating portkey-travel feeling, Hermione softly landed in a small room that was sparsely decorated. She looked around for the door and upon spotting it, made her way towards the only opening of the room.

She gasped quite audibly as she entered what seemed to be the lobby of the hotel she had appeared in.

Rich-looking marble tile lined the whole floor of the grand space and everywhere that she looked, gold and bronze coloured fabrics and materials mashed together in one of the most lavishly decorated rooms Hermione had ever seen. Everything screamed posh and suddenly, she was quite aware she hadn't wisely thought of her outfit as she looked down at her jeans and blouse, feeling more than ordinary when a group of Arabian women passed her, all dressed in long-flowing gowns, each one looking more elegant than the other.

With a struggle, she managed to shake the peasant-like thoughts from her head and looked around more cautiously, trying to make out Jackson's familiar head of blond hair. Making her way towards a beige-colored loveseat close to her, resigning herself to the fact she would have to wait for Jackson to come meet her, she kept on looking around and taking in the rest of the hotel reception area.

Minutes later, after she was done admiring her surroundings, she heard her name being called a few feet to her left and stood to greet her old-time partner.

"Jake!"

The other wizard smiled as he joined her and kissed her on the cheek in welcome.

"Hermione, great to see you've arrived in one piece!"

"Jackson, you could've at least warned me about the dress code, honestly," she replied.

The wizard chuckled and turned around, motioning for her to follow him as he lead them out of the lobby and into an interior garden area close by.

"Why would you say that? You fit right in!" he said sarcastically, sitting down into a comfortable looking armchair in the middle of the open-spaced area.

Hermione scoffed disbelievingly as she sat opposite him.

"May I offer you a drink?" asked a voice behind Hermione. She turned around in surprise, taking a deep breath when she recognized she familiar the familiar outfit of a waiter staff.

Jackson replied to the man in the country's language and in turn, the other man nodded, promising to return soon with drinks.

"This hotel is grand, Jake!"

The wizard smiled as he looked around at the garden they were currently sat in.

"Indeed! The contact we'll be meeting here apparently likes to surround himself with an overly-enjoyable décor. Makes him seem a bit more approachable I've heard."

"You've been in town since yesterday, right?"

"Yes. I've been asking questions around here and there, trying to gather some intel. It appears as the Lupici is one very secretive faction. I have to admit, I'm not sure I like what I've heard about them so far," Jackson admitted as he picked around invisible lint on his dress pants.

Hermione looked at her partner, thinking back to what Malfoy had said at the hospital.

"So I've heard…" she trailed off, smiling politely as the waiter appeared again with their drinks.

Jackson handed over the appropriate amount of bills and reached over for his glass, nodding to Hermione in guise of a cheer. The witch raised an eyebrow at the remaining two drinks on the table in front of them and finally stretched her arm to grab one.

"Drinking yourself into a stupor already Jake? And you've only been here a day!"

Her partner looked back at her uneasily as he fidgeted in his seat. He put his drink back down before looking into her eyes again.

"Eh, about that-"

"Well, well, well … Fancy meeting you here, Granger!" came a familiar drawl to Hermione's left side. She froze on her seat, unsure if she should turn to look at the newcomer and blinked a few times while trying to breathe normally.

_Merlin… Think of the devil, and he shall appear!_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note : <strong>

**I am so so sorry for the long wait between chapters. My father was in town (parents separated, yeah) and I spent quite the time with him before he left again.**

**Also, since the last update, I had this amazing idea for a new story, an actual *Novel* I would like to try working on (Fellow writers, you know how excited you are when you get this amazing! idea? Yeah, I was like that for at least five days, maybe more).**

**PLUS, got a great idea for another Dramion story, one that I would like to write out completely before posting. Oh, fun fact, the plot came to my mind while I had a massage this week. Awkward, I know. **

**If you know any good Betas that would like to help me out on the secondary story, it will contain Smut (and a lot of it!) just a little warning! Let me know ;)**

**Have yourselves a great weekend :) **

**Xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN : This chapter might contain scenes that occur in 'Arabia' as I called it. No specific area is mentioned and what some characters might say may come off as offensive, but I ask you to take it lightly as it thickens the plot!**

**With that said, onto some reading!**

* * *

><p><strong>Last chapter on Circa Mundi :<strong>

"Well, well, well … Fancy meeting you here, Granger!" came a familiar drawl.

_Merlin… Think of the devil, and he shall appear!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

"You…. I've … You've got to be kidding me Koskela," Hermione said as she glared at her partner.

Jackson froze upon hearing the words, quickly picking up on Hermione's anger as she usually never used his last name and normally reserved it for situations when she was either pissed or really needed his attention.

Draco lifted an eyebrow at the pair as he made his way to the remaining available armchair in the sitting area where they were.

"Hermione, you've got to underst-"

"Granger," Draco cut abruptly.

The witch slowly turned her head to look at him, the look of pure shock and surprise still clear on her face.

"For your partner's defense, he didn't know we had history when he called me."

"Hermione, let me explain," pleaded Jackson.

Without even sparing a glance at her partner, Hermione suddenly stood from her seat, almost knocking out the table that held the drinks, and stormed out of the room.

"I think I'm starting to regret my proposal," let out Jackson with a deep sigh as he sat back further into his armchair and stared at the floor.

"You've pretty much always been on Granger's good side, have you?" asked Draco.

"We very rarely fight or butt heads, only when we see different sides to one of our leads on a project or sometimes, when we need to choose our next course of action."

"I don't think you need to worry. She has a hot temper, always had, always will."

"But what I don't understand is why she seems to not be able to stand a minute in the same room as you?"

"Like I said, we have history," came Draco's sullen reply.

Jackson looked back up to the other wizard questioningly.

"It's a long story that I might tell you one day, preferably with another fire whiskey or two in my body."

Jackson laughed and then averted his eyes back down to the floor.

"Let me fix this situation," Draco said. "If I can't find Granger however, how about we meet at the restaurant upstairs in an hour?"

The man in front of him nodded in defeat and without uttering another word, Draco made his way towards the doorway Hermione had escaped to.

The blond looked all over the hotel in the following minutes. The pool area on the third floor was full of people and it took him awhile to analyse the room and come to the conclusion that Granger wasn't there. He then returned to the lobby and walked around for some time, seeking her out. He even asked the people that stood at the reception desk if they had seen the brown-haired witch, to which the men laughed and pointed behind Draco, mentioning most of the women present had brown or dark hair.

His patience wearing thin, Draco then decided to explore the outside areas of the hotel to clear his head and tried thinking of where the infuriating witch could be. Making his way along a stone-covered path to the east of the exit, he suddenly narrowed his eyes in the direction of a bench a few feet in front of him.

There, Hermione sat in silence, her legs curled up underneath her as she stared at her own hands. Draco slowly approached her so as to not upset her further. He even went as far as sitting a few inches from her on the bench without even a reaction from her part.

"If you've come to brag about the fact that I didn't agree to any proposal but that my partner called on you, you can turned around and leave me be Malfoy."

The wizard said nothing for a while as he looked at her. She hadn't even moved an inch as she talked to him and she kept on staring intensely at her hands.

"Granger, I … I'm sorry," he declared.

Hermione's reaction was instantaneous. She snapped her head in his direction and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Repeat that," she whispered.

"You heard it the first time Granger. But you know what? For the sake of a possible truce between us, I'll say it again and you better take a mental vocal note because I won't be saying it again. I – am – sorry."

It took a few seconds for Hermione to react to his words. His features actually looked in a somewhat pain as he voiced his apology and she smiled at finally hearing his admission out loud.

"Good."

"Good? What does that even mean Granger?"

She laughed at the expression on his face. "I've been having a hard time believing Harry when he keeps on saying you've changed. But the fact that you actually just said that out loud gives me hope that maybe you aren't as bad as you make yourself out to be."

"I don't consider myself as _being bad _anymore Granger. Only you seem to be stuck on that idea."

"Well, maybe if you showed me another side of you instead of always snapping at me and being sarcastic and arrogant all the time."

"I've already told you! Give me a chance!" Draco exclaimed, raising his voice.

Staring into Draco's deep blue eyes, Hermione remembered what Ginny had told her the day before.

_You have to give them a chance … You won't know until you try…_

The witch tried to make out her own thoughts, an internal debate going on in her head.

"Okay," she said oh so quietly.

"Okay, what?" Draco asked her, his voice back to its normal level.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Okay, I'll give you a chance Malfoy."

The blond smirked at her and she shook her head.

"Screw up one time though, and my earlier threat of the psychiatric ward just might resurface!"

"Tell you what Granger. Let me come along with you two on this trip, I'll show you I've changed since Hogwarts, and you'll even benefit from my great knowledge of the culture and history here!"

She scoffed and tried to mask her disbelief.

"AND, I might just even be able to help you with the runes you've found in Egypt!"

"How- How do you know that we found runes! That's-"

"I've told you before, I have my ways. Anyhow, at the end of this trip, if you still deem my presence to be that unbearable, then I swear to never cross paths with you and your team again."

She stared him in the eyes again after hearing his offer. He had to be quite confident in his own proposition if he promised to never see her again, considering they worked around a similar field of work.

Narrowing her eyes at him once more, she nodded slightly.

"Great, if that's settled then, we should go back in and join Jackson," Draco mentioned as he stood up and threw his hands in his pockets.

"He's been waiting for us this whole time?"

Draco started walking, Hermione finally standing up and following him. "We had agreed to meet at the restaurant for a late dinner after I'd found you."

Hermione snorted as she joined his side, the two walking in perfect sync.

"Confident much, Malfoy?" she taunted.

He smirked again and kept on walking.

She shook her head and allowed him to lead them to the restaurant in silence.

_Well, the confidence is still as present as ever,_ she thought to herself as she stole a side glance. _And his good looks._

She bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from thinking about Malfoy's looks anymore and focused instead on the tile on the floor.

_Why is it that my hormones go crazy every time I'm in the presence of this wizard!_

THUMP!

Hermione suddenly felt herself falling backwards as her foot caught in a crack on the floor. Strong arms than grasped her and pulled her upright again.

"Uh … Thanks?" she muttered into Malfoy's chest.

_Of course, he had to save me from plummeting to the floor again!_

Draco's firm hands were still braced on either side of her as the feeling of free-falling finally left her.

"You alright there Granger?" he asked, much too close to Hermione's likeness.

She breathed in his cologne and felt light headed. Suddenly snapping out of her daze, she took a step back and shook her head.

"Just dandy!" came out her squeaky reply as she made to step around him to try and mask the blush that had crept onto her cheeks.

Malfoy chuckled deeply at her unusual behavior and lead her into the restaurant as they both looked around for their partner.

* * *

><p>A few glasses of wine later, the trio sat at the far end of the classy restaurant that was at the top floor of their hotel. The view from the fourteenth floor was grandiose and Draco felt more like they were on a friendly weekend trip together then a business outing. The group had eaten through a six course meal and were now enjoying dessert while Jackson retold stories from his and Hermione's past expeditions.<p>

"I'm telling you, she was NOT into me!" Hermione repeated for the third time.

Both men laughed at her tone and she huffed at them while reaching for her glass of wine.

"You see Draco, I like to believe Hermione is a bit blind when it comes to noticing someone's interest in her. Especially when it comes to other women!"

Draco laughed again and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Jackson had told him of their trip to Panama the year before where a local woman had been very forward in her affections towards Hermione.

"Do you want me to remind you of the time in Russia where that grandmother kept hitting on you?" Hermione threatened the other wizard.

Jackson immediately froze and his face turned red.

"No! That's quite alright!" he quickly uttered.

Hermione tried to stifle her laughter at his reaction but in the end, she burst out laughing, remembering the old lady's very tender ministrations when she had been tendering to Jackson in the hospital bed he had stayed in for two days.

Draco couldn't help but groan at the shiver than ran through his spine as the witch in front of him laughed. He had never seen this side of Hermione before and as he looked at her, he berated himself mentally for being a twat to her all those years. The witch was clearly a natural beauty and her intelligence poked him in all the right places.

Maybe in another dimension, they could've been good friends?

Damn his father and his grudge against non-Pureblood people.

"Maybe we should call it a night?" Jackson said as he downed the rest of his wine.

Hermione stifled a yawn and nodded, her eyes blinking furiously, trying to shake the sleep from her vision.

"What floor are your rooms on?"

"Tenth," Hermione and Draco both said simultaneously. They looked at each other in surprise and Hermione laughed again at the coincidence.

_Maybe it's the wine,_ thought Draco as he smiled towards her. She had been awfully friendly since the third course but then again, they had drunk quite a few bottles since their arrival at the restaurant.

"Aw, you guys get to have a great view! I'm stuck on the seconds floor," Jackson whined as he stood from the table.

Hermione made to get up but stumbled on her feet. Draco was quickly by her side and took hold of one of her arms.

"I'll escort you Granger."

She struggled in vain to get out of his hold but Draco only grasped her harder. Merlin, that woman was quite the ditz when she had a few glasses too many.

"Stop struggling Hermione," he told her softly. The witch froze at the sound of her given name on his tongue, and she instantly sobered up. Looking into his piercing eyes, she nodded numbly and stopped thrashing around his arms.

Jackson bid the two a good night and left the restaurant, leaving Draco to help Hermione to the corridor. Sometime later, he managed to arrive to their floor and asked her what room she was in.

"1022," she said sleepily into his side. He had his right arm hooked around her and the hand that rested on her ribs now rode dangerously close to her breast as she moved to make herself more comfortable in his arms.

Draco groaned softly and helped her to her door. Upon arriving to her room, Hermione sighed happily into Draco's strong hold and thanked him. He helped her unlock the door and as they entered the room, Hermione managed to get out of his arms and took a few steps further in.

"Thanks Draco," she uttered as she struggled to get out of her blouse. Her back was to him as she took off the garment and made to unhook her bra.

_She must think I've already left, _he thought as he looked at her through shocked eyes.

Blinking furiously, he shook himself out of his daze and mumbled a reply before quickly leaving her room, softly closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Hermione was abruptly woken up by a pounding on her hotel room's door. She groaned when she looked at the time and concluded the wine from yesterday had made her sleep in far later than she had intended to.<p>

"Hermione! Get your lazy ass up, the plans have changed!" came Jackson's voice from the other side.

Groaning again, she yelled a quick, "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" and made to dress herself as fast as she could. Picking up her wand from the nightstand, she waved at her face to charm a bit of makeup on and quickly pulled her hair on the top of her hair in a lazy bun.

As she burst out her hotel room a few seconds later, she was met with the confused face of her colleague and an undecipherable look on Malfoy's face.

"What," she spit out angrily at the two men.

After blinking a few times, Malfoy's lips slowly turned into a smirk as he nodded at her chest.

"Your shirt is on backwards."

Hermione let out a small gasp and looked down. Indeed, in her haste to dress, she had probably twisted the words to the charm and her shirt had put itself on backwards. The resulting image it currently offered though was a nice show of Hermione's lacy bra as the back of her blouse was a sheer, see-through material. She blushed deeply and muttered a few words and within seconds, she was finally dressed more decently.

"So, um," Jackson started awkwardly. He very willingly went through the change of plans for the day's events as the trio walked down to the part of the hotel they had been seated at the day before.

"Ok, just so we're clear. You mean to tell me a car is sent for us and we have to meet up with your contact, in an unknown territory, which could very well mean a trap for us, _also,_ be blindfolded for most of the ride so we don't know where they're taking us? And only when we arrive to the unknown, super top-secret location, will your contact be able to give us information pertaining to our research?" Hermione resumed the earlier explanation of her colleague.

"That about sums it up, yeah," he replied nonchalantly.

"Granger, we're wizards, don't forget. If they mean us harm, we'll be sure to let them know who we are," Malfoy reminded them.

Letting out a sigh, the witch finally conceded. "Fine. But if anything happens, I'm blaming you Jackson!"

The other wizard smiled back at her and let them all out by a side corridor. Moments later, they stood in a small parking area where Jackson had been told to wait. The sun shown bright and it was a very hot day. Unfortunately for Hermione, that meant her patience wearing very thin as she hated humidity and overly high temperatures.

"Did your person even hint at any global direction we were going in?" she asked Jackson.

Malfoy stood a few paces to their right and was occupying himself by kicking around small rocks that lay on the ground.

"No. Apparently it's an added security measure for him. He's not exactly the type to like being in the spotlight, if you know what I mean. All very shady, these people are," Jackson replied.

Without so much as a glance upwards, Malfoy took to their conversation, all the while keeping his eyes focused on the tiny rocks. "Smells fishy, if you ask me."

Hermione nodded. For once, she was in agreement with the Slytherin.

The team didn't get the chance to continue their talk as a luxurious black sedan rolled up to them and stopped right in front of Jackson and Hermione. Malfoy finally lifted his head and squinted at the vehicle. The window that was facing the duo slid down, revealing a chubby man sitting behind the driver's wheel.

"Koskela? Jackson Koskela?" he asked in a thick Arabian accent.

The wizard in question nodded and stood closer to the car, leaning down so he could see the driver better.

"Get in. Quickly now, boss waiting."

Jackson nodded at the burly man and the opened the backseat door for Hermione. The small witch scooted in, marvelling at the cool air that came out from the ventilation slots in the car. Jackson followed suit, taking the seat to Hermione's right and Draco came in from the other door. It seemed none of them were taking a chance sitting in the front passenger seat, not that they would have even if it had been offered by the driver. It didn't take long for the large man in front to change gears and will the car to put itself into drive.

The man drove them through a few streets, taking many rapid turns, most probably trying to play with their sense of orientation. They hadn't been gone for ten minutes that the car stopped again on the side of an empty street. The foreign man in front turned around and threw them the blindfolds they were meant to put on.

Hermione turned to look at her usual partner and narrowed her eyes at him. From the strangely silent man that was driving them, to the hundred turns around the city, to the blindfolds they now had to put on, something didn't feel right.

"Boss waiting. Put on now," the driver anxiously let out.

The small witch huffed and put on the soft material over her eyes. The men on either side of her were clearly doing the same as she felt their respective arms wiggle around the tiny space.

She felt the car start up again as the driver probably confirmed the blindfolds had been put on and she felt the vehicle whirring down the roads even faster than before.

A sharp turn suddenly made her slam into a large chest on her left, Malfoy's she remembered, and she struggled to get back to her own place. She fumbled around for a grip on something to get back into her sitting position and accidentally brushed her hand up Malfoy's inner thigh.

"_Granger_," he groaned in a low tone.

It wasn't angry. It wasn't a warning tone.

It felt more feral than anything.

She had never heard him growl in such a way and it was playing tricks on her mind.

"Um, yeah, sorry Malfoy," she blurted out.

Jackson remained oblivious to the whole episode, staying silent in his own seat, lost in concentration at trying to remember the route in his mind.

Still, after regaining her previous position, Hermione couldn't help but shake the smell of Malfoy's cologne from her nose. As she had slammed into him, she had gotten a deep whiff of his smell and it was intoxicating.

The blindfold.

It was playing tricks on her mind.

That was the only reasonable explanation behind her thinking of Malfoy smelling good.

That, and also the humidity.

The rest of the drive was short as the trio in the back suddenly felt the car coming to a stop. Awaiting directions from the driver, they remained seated.

"Ok for blindfolds off."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief at finally regaining her vision. Both of her partners opened their doors and got out of the car and suddenly, a hand was extended back into the compartment. She lifted an eyebrow at the arm and slowly reached for the hand that helped her out and onto the pavement.

"Uh, thanks Malfoy," she let out softly.

He nodded at her and the smallest of smiles seemed to tug at his lips.

"In, now," the driver said with a firm voice.

The trio looked around quickly before following the man. They stood in a narrow alley, wide enough for them to walk around the car without being squeezed up to the walls on each side. On one end there was a large wooden door, the direction they were walking in. The alley seemed to give way to a street on the other end as Hermione noticed a few cars whirring by.

"Tell lady this way," muttered the driver angrily towards the two wizards. Jackson's brows furrowed together and Malfoy bellowed for Hermione to follow them closer.

When they approached the large door, the large man let out a few sentences in his native language and then turned back to face the group.

"You go in now."

Jackson nodded towards him and made to push the door open. The air inside the room they entered was heavy with humidity and the lights were low. Another man stood inside, standing even taller than the driver, shoulders wider. He motioned for the three to get in and go on into a corridor that faced them.

A shiver ran up Hermione's spine as Malfoy stood closer to her, whispering in her ear as they went through the dark hall. "Still smelling fishy to me."

The witch nodded her accord silently and stood on alert, her hand hovering an inch over the pocket that held her wand.

Suddenly, the already dimly-lit corridor became even darker as the few lights on each wall went out. Panic struck the trio and they fumbled to reach out to each other in the dark.

Draco was the only one that saw a flash of light before bags were lowered quickly onto each of their heads and they were suddenly being pushed deeper into the house they had stepped in. Jackson struggled in vain to get away from his captors, each of his arms being strongly grasped. Draco tried to kick away while he was being led by the shoulders and Hermione remained deadly quiet, to the point where her partners started wondering if she was even with them still.

After being pushed along for a few seconds, the three were roughly sat on each their own chairs and the bags on their heads were removed.

This room was wider than the first they had walked into and the lights shone brightly around the room. Hermione's fluttered opened and she moaned as she adjusted her sight. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed quite a few men stood at the other side of the room as well as behind them.

They were surrounded.

Didn't Jackson say his contact was a trusty fella?

She huffed and stood her chin out at the apparent leader of the group. A tall man sat in front of them, a large wooden table separating him from the trio. They were the only four people in the room sitting, all the other men standing around here and there, two still grasping at Jackson's arms as he kept on struggling.

"Who are you people?" Hermione dared to ask the man in front of her.

He sneered at her and whispered something to the minion that stood closest to him.

"Why do you mean us harm?" she insisted. "We only want information!"

This time she was met with silence. The leader of the group took a deep breath and shook his head, slowing turning to address Draco.

"You speak for this woman?" he demanded with a thick accent.

Hermione's brows instantly furrowed together in a mix of confusion and anger. How dare he completely ignore her! Jackson cocked his head to one side, trying to make out the meaning of the other man's question.

Draco simply nodded and responded a few words in the country's language.

"Simple security precaution," the Arab replied in English once again. "I understand you must be Koskela?"

Draco shook his head and gestured in the direction of Jackson. "I am only here as his partner. Jackson here is the one who's been meaning to ask you a few things."

"We would like to inquire about the _Lupici,_" Jackson said tentatively.

All of a sudden, the room seemed to be in an uproar. Some of the men protested loudly at Jackson's use of the gang's name, others left the room quickly, while another part of the group grasped at their guns and arms more firmly, wide-eyed and looking around the room.

"Sheesh, it's as if we just told you Voldemort is back from the dead," Hermione whispered a bit too loudly.

"Control your woman, _wizard_, or we will be forced to control her for you," the leader bellowed suddenly. As he spoke, silence came back to the room and the other men finally settled down.

Hermione's eyes were as wide as saucers at this point. She refused to be ignored in such a way. As she flexed her jaw, trying to quickly think of a witty response, Draco elbowed her from his seat.

"Don't say another word Granger. These people are dangerous, we need to follow their instructions lest you want to return to England in your grave," he muttered to her. As he spoke the words, Hermione looked at him and was surprised to see a trace of concern in his eyes. She let out a sigh and nodded, turning back to the man facing her on the opposite side of the table.

"Why do you search such information?" the Arab asked in his deep voice.

Jackson remained silent for a while before answering. "We have… A score to settle with them." He had chosen his words wisely but was not completely sure he had correctly answered.

Three men then came closer to the table, slowly aiming their arms towards the trio.

"What, dare I ask, sort of score, to settle?" the leader drawled.

"They … We … They have something of ours," Jackson stuttered lamely, a thin coat of sweat starting to form on forehead.

Draco rolled his eyes. He could guess how these men usually did their business and the way their current conversation was going, it was safe to assume they weren't going to get any information before soon.

"We've had a bit of a misunderstanding with them, is all. They took something of ours and we simply wish to meet with them to ask for it back. Nicely," he added, unsure of this group's current alliance with the Lupici.

The leader looked back at Draco and pondered his words for a few seconds. He leaned back in his chair and waved his hands to signal his minions to lower their arms. The three 'bodyguards' reluctantly followed his orders and stepped back from the table.

"I tell you what you want to know, but my words come at price. Surely, this is why you have brought the lady friend?"

Hermione took a sharp intake of breath at the words' hidden meaning. Surely, they didn't think she would give herself up without a fight? And more so, as a token of exchange for some information. What century did these people live in?

As Draco stood slowly from his chair, a few men closed in on him again, some of them their fingers already grazing their triggers. The tension was heavy and Hermione wished everything would soon be over. No matter how many times she had faced danger before, during her days at Hogwarts as well as on her expeditions, she still didn't like flirting with death in any way. And this was some heavy flirting.

Draco reached into his back pocket and slipped out a tiny bag. As he set it on the table in front of him, he whispered a spell and the bag instantly grew in size.

The Arab's eyes zeroed in on the token and he motioned for one of his followers to open it. The blond wizard sat back and stayed silent while the bag was opened and a few bars of gold were dropped onto the table.

"You travel more prepared than I thought," Hermione whispered to him. This time, the other men in the room didn't notice. Draco smirked.

The guns that were pointed at him lowered and the leader clapped his hands together.

"Pleasure doing business with you, my _friend_."

Draco nodded at him and turned his head towards Jackson, urging him to ask his questions before any of them were shot dead.

"Would you happen to know what the Lupici were up to recently? We've heard of a, project of theirs in Egypt?" Jackson asked.

"Indeed. They were to search for certain _dark _object, as you wizards say, but they found something quite interesting instead."

Jackson swallowed and took a deep breath, willing himself to stay level-headed and not give themselves away.

"Are they planning on doing anything with their findings?"

"That is none my concern, and should not be of yours."

"Do you know if they plan on staying there any longer? I simply mean that, if we were to meet with them, we would have to know of their location."

The Arab raised an eyebrow questioningly as he stared at Jackson. Moments of silence passed and one of the henchmen from the right side of the room bellowed something in his language.

"I've heard they were travelling to Ethiopia next, but my sources are not hundred percent reliable."

Draco coughed and threw a dirty look towards his partner.

"They are to leave Egypt soon, then?" Draco asked. "To go to Ethiopia, correct?"

The tall man nodded at him and made to take hold of his gold. "That is all I tell you today. You leave now. Ahmed will escort you back outside," he said while raising his left hand. Another burly man stepped towards them, one of his hands firmly grasping the gun that sat in his belt.

"Follow, now," he urged the trio.

Hermione sighed impatiently, more than happy to be leaving their 'meeting'. Jackson stood quickly and made to get ahead of her while Draco kept at her back, both of them standing closer then when they had first entered the house.

Just as they were leaving the room, he heard whispers in the far back of the room and suddenly, he tensed, reaching in front for Hermione's hand. The small witch looked at him with confusion as their skin made contact, questioning the sudden gesture.

"Take Jackson's hand. Subtly," Draco mumbled.

Her face scrunching up in uncertainty, Hermione did as he said and slowly slid her hand into Jackson's. When her partner's eyes looked back at her in question, she shook her head and raised her other hand at him. Jackson didn't seem to understand but didn't question her any more as he turned to look ahead of him while they were being led out of the dark corridor from earlier and into the parlor at the front of the house.

Their escort suddenly stopped and whirled around to face them. He drew out his shoulders and made to stand more menacingly towards them. "This meeting secret. You leave and not say word to no one."

Draco and Jackson nodded each of their heads and the trio made to exit. Once more, Draco heard the man whispering to himself in his native tongue and pushed Hermione and Jackson ahead forcefully.

As soon as they were out the door in back into the alley, he fished around for his wand and closed his eyes to concentrate on the feeling of disapparation, only to realize something was off.

"Wards," he uttered gravely. "They have wards on the place."

"What are you on about?" Hermione questioned him. "And pray tell, why are we holding hands like a bunch of preschoolers?"

"They're onto us. I heard them, before we left the meeting room," Draco answered while leading them down the alley and towards the street. The two followed him without saying a word.

Hermione had already seen Draco panicked once before, when they had been in Hogwarts of course. But years had passed and for a grown man to seem this desperate to leave a certain place, she couldn't help but worry.

"What's the plan," Jackson suddenly said. Getting back into his role as Hermione's partner, he seemed to find the courage he had earlier lost while talking with the Arab man.

"Well, it _was _to apparate out, but that's out of the question. We need to run," Draco replied drily, taking them down another street and into a more crowded area of the city.

The three ran for a few seconds but it wasn't long before they understood they were being followed. As they turned a corner abruptly, Draco rammed head first into a strong built mass of arms and shoulders and chest. The trio stumbled and fell back, Jackson being the only one that had the reflex to reach for his wand as they met the pavement.

"Here!" the man they had bumped in yelled at his back in a thick accent.

Jackson was standing in less than a blink of an eye and he threw a Protego spell just as the man in front of them pulled his trigger. The fired bullets blasted off his shield but the man kept on firing.

"Go, quick! I'll cover you!" Jackson yelled as he stunned the man.

Draco turned around and fumbled to get back to his feet. He took a sharp intake of breath when he looked back at Hermione. Her right wrist stood out at a weird angle, probably broken during their fall and she was blinking madly to shake the dizziness from their sudden incident.

With no time to spare, he took the small witch into his arms and ran madly in the other direction. As he rounded a corner, he heard Jackson yelling out more spells to keep the man's apparent backup away from them.

"Malfoy, let go!" Hermione struggled in his arms. Her sudden movement caused him to lose his balance and they fell once more to the floor. In a heap of tangled limbs, they managed to get back up and kept on running. "Jeez, I'm not a damsel in distress. I can handle myself, it's only a broken wrist!"

Draco rolled his eyes while keeping the quick pace of their run. "You're hurt Granger, we need to get out of here quick."

"Oh! What about Jackson?" she suddenly made to go back, turning around on her heels.

Upon hearing her, Malfoy whirled around and grabbed hold of her other wrist.

"We need to think about our safety first. Jackson will be ok on his own."

Struggling once more to get out of his hold, Hermione stopped running and pulled in the opposite direction.

"Always thinking of yourself first Malfoy, so typical of you."

He turned around at her words and his eyes narrowed. As soon as he set eyes on her however, a blast was heard close to them and he stepped on his ego, willing her to follow him again.

"No comeback? Still a coward, I see," she taunted him while they started running again.

Silently fuming, Draco led them through a crowd and towards a small alley he had just spotted. He roughly pushed Hermione into the small space, with barely any space to move around in.

"I was actually trying to save you, Granger," he whispered angrily at her while they both caught their breath. "We should rest for a minute before going again."

"We need to help Jackson!"

"He'll handle himself! Damn it, witch, you're going to get us killed! I'm sure this isn't the first time you've gotten yourselves into such a situation!"

"What would you know!"

They both stared at each other, daring the other to speak while they respectively started breathing properly again.

"I don't, Granger," Draco muttered as he stood closer to her. He leaned his face closer to hers so his lips grazed her ear, making his words clear as he spoke. "You don't let anyone in."

"Maybe I don't want anyone in Malfoy," she responded in a whisper of her own. In a turn of events, she was suddenly out of breath again but for another reason. Draco's close proximity was once again playing tricks on her mind.

He sighed deeply and took a step back. "We should get going." He turned to get out of the alley.

Hermione shook herself out of her trance and made to follow him but ran straight into his back when he stopped moving.

"_Gnelt drank_!" she heard from the outside of the alley as she felt rather than saw Draco moving.

A second later, she was being roughly pushed up on the wall, Draco's hands on either side of her head, gliding up her wild mane as he lowered his lips to hers. Without realizing what was happening, she poured herself in the kiss and threw her own hands around his neck, responding to his embrace in way that surprised her.

A shiver ran through her spine as he felt him shift them so that her back would be facing the street. And then she gasped as his hands worked lightning quick to untangle themselves from her hair and slide around her back to her butt. She felt her feet lift from the pavement as she was raised into the air, her legs coming around Draco's middle in reflex. He slowly licked his tongue around her lips and she deepened the kiss, inviting his own tongue to dance with hers languidly.

All too quickly, the kiss was over and Draco loosened his hold to set her back on the pavement.

"What … What was that for?" she asked, confusion thick in her voice.

"They were running right by the alley, had to hide," he shrugged as he ran a hand lazily through his hair.

Hermione blinked as she looked at him. Her heart was pounding madly in her chest.

"Come on, they should be gone by now," Draco said as he stuck his head out of the alley, looking both ways before reaching for her hand again.

This time, Hermione mutely let herself follow him around the crowded streets, still in the daze that their kiss had induced.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note :<strong>

**1- The Gnelt Drank is a very rough translation from Armenian that means "Find Them". I hadn't chosen any particular country for this as I didn't wish to insult any particular part of the world (Please remember, this if Fanfiction!)**

**2- This chapter was once again longer than expected! Props to all of the Authors who write action daily, I know it wasn't anything big but I struggled to write out the last scenes.**

**3- I tried to make Hermione a bit softer towards Malfoy and hope it doesn't come off as being too fast but this is how I might picture them getting around to being 'friendly' with each other. Maybe a bit more, who knows ;) **

**Let me know what you thought in the reviews below!**

**Xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note :**

**Thanks for all the follows and reviews **** Special thanks to Binchenchen and Meldz who have been reading this story from pretty much the beginning.**

**Also, someone pointed out that it was a bit confusing as to why the last group would feed them information on the Lupici but then try and catch them. You'll understand a bit in the not this chapter but the next!**

**Happy reading Xx**

**Last chapter on Circa Mundi :**

All too quickly, the kiss was over and Draco loosened his hold to set her back on the pavement.

"What … What was that for?" she asked, confusion thick in her voice.

"Come on, they should be gone by now," Draco said.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Half an hour later, the pair managed to slid into another alley a few paces back from the street they had been on.

"This is mad, we won't find Jackson in this city!" Hermione mumbled to herself as she kicked a small rock on the pavement.

"We should focus on getting to safety. You still need that wrist to be tended to," Draco relied as he stepped closer to her. He slowly extended his hand and reached for her broken wrist, Hermione wincing as he grabbed it. Turning it over a few times, a finally muttered a few words and blue light glowed around her bruised skin.

"You can do wandless?" she asked with surprise clear in her voice.

He smirked back at her and let her wrist down.

"Why does that even surprise you, Granger? I clearly remember being only behind you in Hogwarts, surely you've been doing wandless also for years now, no?"

She looked at him for a while and then smiled. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"It's a charm I made up for the pain. Used it a lot back in the War. It should help you for a while until we find a hospital or something."

"Are you once again forgetting about Jackson?"

He shook his head and made to get back onto the street however they were both stopped short on their tracks as the soft white glow of a patronus made his way to them. Hermione recognized the falcon as Jackson's patronus and made to get closer to the hovering animal.

"_I ran and made them follow a fake track. You should also be safe for now. Meet me in the small village 20 kilometres east of here and we'll make a plan." _

Hermione nodded absentmindedly at the patronus and sighed.

"Granger, we should modify our appearances a bit, just to be sure they're not on our trail."

She looked back at the wizard that had helped her escape from a rather uncomfortable meeting with death only a few minutes earlier. He was also staring at her but with a rather complex expression gracing his features.

"What," she let out impatiently. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just wondering if you'd be prettier with blonde or black hair," he replied with a smirk.

She swatted his arm angrily and narrowed her eyes at her.

"I'm kidding! I like your hair better this way anyways."

Hermione suddenly tensed and Draco realized what he had just said out loud. "You … Like my hair …"

Draco's expression was back to stone cold and Hermione had a hard time reading anything from his eyes or face. Hermione tried to stifle her laughter but wasn't able to hold it in and burst out laughing.

"That's …(gasp) the funniest … (gasp) thing! Coming from the guy (gasp) … who used to call me a … (gasp) bucktooth mudblood!"

Draco looked on as if she'd gone crazy, not expecting her outburst in the least. He raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her laughter to subside. Moments later, she was still taking in large breaths but seemed to have regained control.

"Can we get to the charms now, Granger? Are you done mocking me?"

She snorted in a very un-ladylike fashion. "Mocking you? I'm sorry, it's just a bit ironic to hear you say that out loud, is all."

"Well laugh all you want but I suggest we get out of her and join Jackson as quick as possible."

"So eager to change subjects now, are we Malfoy?"

And then, the unthinkable happened.

Malfoy blushed.

It was the tiniest speck of red that appeared on his cheeks, but Hermione knew she'd hit a home run with her last comment.

He ignored her and fished to get his wand out of his pocket, turned around to face opposite her direction and started uttering some familiar words.

She laughed again but finally dropped the subject and got her own wand out.

Draco groaned to himself as his appearance changed. Shoulder length blonde hair now just grazed the tops of his ears and was dark brown, his nose appeared softer than the usual Malfoy sharp features and his eyes were now golden instead of their silvery steel blue. _It was a spur of the moment thing. That, and the shameless flirting, _he reassured himself, thinking back to his compliment on Hermione's hair.

To his defence, the witch _had _grown out to fuller curves and a more womanly body. Her once bushy hair was now tamer and gracefully fell down her back in long golden locks. _Golden locks? Really Draco, what is getting into you?_

Finally, he shrugged off the light vest he had been wearing and waved his wand around his knees so that his trousers would shorten to the length of khakis. He turned around to face Hermione was met with quite the sight.

Her hair was a strawberry blonde color with a bit of highlights on the ends and just brushed at her shoulders in wavy strands. Bright blue eyes were staring back at him, surrounded with a touch of makeup that made her already long lashes stand out. She had also changed her outfit, now dressed head to toe in black, the tightest pants he had ever seen on her were making her curves even more present and a bit of cleavage peaked out from her slim sporty tank top.

"Incognito enough for you?" she asked with a dazzling smile.

His breathed had been knocked out of him as he looked her up and down and simply nodded.

"Good, now let's get to finding Jackson," she replied as she stepped back onto the street.

Turning around and following her through the streets, Draco wished he had been the one to lead as he currently had a very fine view of her behind. He groaned and made to catch up to her quick strides before a bump in his pants was sure to make himself known if he kept on staring at her the way he had been.

An hour later, they finally stood on the outskirts of the city they had been in. Hermione used her wand to cast a disillusion spell and them and another to use her wand as a compass.

"This road seems to be leading east anyways so let's just stay on it until my wand says otherwise."

Draco agreed and they set out to walk in a comfortable silence. If his calculations were right and they kept their quick pace, they should be in the town Jackson spoke about in around three hours.

They walked in the semblance of desert most of the time. The small road they were on barely seemed to get any passing cars as the one they had last seen was half an hour ago. Draco was about to give into his ego as he felt his thirst deep in his throat but Hermione beat him to it.

"I'm parched!" she let out dramatically as she stopped and sat down on the side of the road.

The wizard nodded numbly and sat beside her. Both stayed sitting for a little while before Draco got back up and started digging in the sand.

"Malfoy, now is not the time to build a sandcastle," Hermione berated him.

He looked back at her and smirked, and went back to his task of digging around. After a few minutes, he took his wand out and muttered a few words, pointing at the fresh new hole in the ground. Hermione gasped at the sudden sight of water filling up the tiny basin.

"Why didn't I think of that," she muttered as she kneeled close to the small pit. Both of them cupped each of their hands together and lapped at the water for some time.

After quenching their thirst, Hermione thanked him and they got back on the road.

"We should make haste. The sun will set soon and I don't know for you, but I'm not keen on discovering what creeps this desert at night," Draco said while they walked briskly into the desert still.

"Yeah, that and my wrist is killing me."

He slowed down and waited for her to catch up, shaking his head at her.

"Why didn't you tell me it started hurting again? I'll just charm it another time."

"I don't need you to take care of me Malfoy," she replied angrily.

Picking up the pace, she stormed ahead of him, making him resume his earlier task of staring at the view of her tight pants she offered.

"Damn witch … Stubborn as hell …" he muttered to himself a few paces back.

The silence between them resumed and they kept on this way for another hour. Finally, they were able to distinguish a few lights in the distance. Jackson had been right, it seemed it was a really small village they were headed for. As they crept closer to the outline of the village, they were able to make out a few houses here and there, some children running around in the setting sun, women taking down the clothing they had hung during the day.

Before they went any further, Hermione stopped them both and set to send out her own patronus to Jackson. She told her otter to send message for him to meet them at the south of the village in a few minutes time.

"After seeing so many of those, I still can't help but be amazed at it," Draco let out beside her.

"Quite the magic indeed. To be able to muster all ones happiness into the smallest of forms," Hermione said back, obviously not noticing the tone her voice had taken.

"Are you insinuating I can't form a patronus, Granger? That I'm not a happy enough person for the task?"

Hermione quickly shook her head and raised a hand towards him. "I … Malfoy, that's not what I meant!"

"It's ok, guess we can't all be as golden as you Gryffindors are, can't we?"

"I'm sorry Malfoy, I just … I'm tired and my wrist hurts as hell. I didn't mean for that to come out as it did."

He looked back at her and she pleaded him with wide eyes.

"Can you … Can you make one? A Patronus, I mean?" she asked shyly.

He turned back and made to start walking again. She berated herself mentally for offending him when he had been nothing but courteous since the beginning of their trip. Maybe he had changed. She was beginning to see another side of the once-ever-so-arrogant Draco Malfoy, and she didn't know if she was liking it or not.

It was playing tricks on her.

Resigning herself to follow him in silence, for she was certain he wouldn't grace her with a response, she followed him quickly but was surprised when he spoke again.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," he told her while keeping his head directed towards their destination.

She smiled.

She recognized her earlier words and chuckled mentally at the thought of him using them against her.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He was definitely proving to have a sense of humor at the very least.

Upon arriving at the southernmost point of the village, the duo decided to rest once more and sat down on large rocks that had been set out around the road that led out towards another part of the desert. Lifting their disillusion spell, Hermione stood to stretch her limbs and walked in circles around the stones. Draco mostly kept his head down but kept his gaze on her from the corner of his eyes.

Was she stretching like that on purpose?

Maybe the heat was getting to him, forcing certain thoughts about Granger on him.

Still, he had to admit, she had an amazing body. And she was a very good kisser at that.

"Jackson! I thought we'd lost you!" Hermione suddenly yelled out towards the village. She met her partner in a few long strides and threw her arms around him.

"I'm ok Hermione, don't worry about me," he whispered in her neck. The two stood that way for a few seconds before stepping out of their embrace.

Still sitting on his rock, Draco was struck with the oddest feeling in the pit of his stomach. Although Jackson had been nothing but nice and kind since their initial meeting at the hotel, he couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of anger directed at the wizard. Draco finally stood and approached the couple.

Jackson nodded towards him and extended his hand for a firm handshake that Draco accepted. "Thanks for taking care of her," Jackson told him.

"She's very stubborn," Draco replied.

Jackson chuckled and acquiesced. "Damn right she is. She never even lets me close to any of her injuries. Always insists she can heal herself or that she can look out for herself."

Draco turned to face the witch and raised an eyebrow in her direction. It was her turn to blush as she looked down at the sand.

"Speaking of, she had a broken wrist. We need to get her to a hospital or a medi-witch," Draco resumed.

The other wizard nodded and felt around in the pockets of his trousers. He seemed to be searching for a while and it dawned on Draco that he must've been using an undetectable bottomless charm. Finally, Jackson pulled out a small vial that only held a few drops of a dark pink liquid.

"It should start re-growing your bones but you should go to St-Mungo's as soon as you get back to England," he said as he passed the vial along to Hermione. She looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, when I get back to England? Where are you going? Weren't we following the Lupici to Ethiopia?"

Jackson laughed and clapped a hand on Hermione's shoulder. She looked at him disbelievingly and waited for his answer. All too suddenly, he took on a grave expression and looked back at Draco.

"I trust you will keep on taking care of her?"

Draco looked him in the eye and tipped his head ever so slightly. He couldn't pinpoint when exactly he had begun to act so protective towards Hermione and this wizard, but a bond had formed since their first meeting at the hotel and he now brought it upon himself to safely bring the witch back to their country.

"Koskela … Where. Are. You. Going." Hermione said angrily.

Jackson winced at her tone and looked back at her. "I had an idea while I flew here."

"You _flew _here? As on a broomstick?" the witch exclaimed.

"I might've stolen a broom and magicked it but that's beside the point. Hermione, you two need to get back to England and warn Hagpipe of the latest development in our research. I'll fly down to Ethiopia and lay low for a bit, waiting for some information here and there. Then, we can meet back and we'll take our project back and arrange for the Lupici to get out of our way once and for all."

Hermione stared at him as if he'd grew a third eye.

"He has a point Granger," Draco remarked from her right.

The way Jackson had spoken reminded Hermione a lot of Harry. His quick-wit and self-assurance was enough to make anyone follow him and yet, Hermione couldn't help but to question if this was their best course of action.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What if you get hurt?" she whispered while stepping closer to him.

Once again, Draco grew annoyed on the sideline. He was starting to get sick at watching the two _lovebirds _and a small voice inside him couldn't help but be overjoyed at the fact that Jackson would be leaving him and Hermione to their own affairs for some time.

"I've seen worse Hermione, you and I both know that."

Her bottom lip quivered as she threw herself into his arms again, hugging him closely before he left for danger again.

"I have an idea," Draco suddenly stated. The two others turned their heads towards him while he fumbled around for his wand. He quickly summoned a form a paper from the closest house and set to write something on it before giving it to the other wizard.

"In any case of emergency, follow these instructions. Help will come to you as fast as possible," he added as he clapped his own hand on Jackson's shoulder. Draco was met with a questioning look but insisted the other man put the paper in his trousers.

"Alright. Thanks mate. Hermione, go back to England with Draco and take care of Hagpipe. We need to get our glyphs in Egypt back before we head-on corner the Lupici."

The witch slowly shook her head in accord. Jackson took her moment of silence as his cue to leave and raised his left hand from his body. The broom he had magicked to come to life whirred to action and came to his side. He lifted his leg and mounted the broom and looked back to Draco in silence. Something transpired between the two wizards in that moment; it was a mutual understanding that both would take care of Hermione, no matter what. Upon meeting their earlier _friends, _all three of them had understood they were in for more than they had thought this project to be.

"Take care, Koskela," Hermione trembled as she let out the words towards her friend and partner of years.

He smiled back at her. "I will _kulta._" And with that, he was off into the night, gracefully flying higher and higher up into the night sky.

Hermione stood in a daze, looking up at the sky towards the direction Jackson had just gone. She let out a loud sigh and turned around to face Draco. "Back to England I guess?" She asked him, already knowing the answer.

He slowly trudged his way to her, standing as close as ever. Once again, he took her small wrist into his hand and she let him, never looking away from his eyes. He stared right back at her while he uttered the simple words to his healing spell and then let down her wrist but didn't let go of it. "I'll take care of you, Hermione. We'll get you home."

She cocked her head to the side slowly, well aware that he was still holding onto her but finally not caring in the least at their close proximity. "You just said my name."

"I did."

The word had felt foreign on his tongue. He hadn't ever actually said her name out loud but he quite liked the sensation. His stomach churned as he saw her lips form into a small smile. He decided to change the subject before he started reciting poetry or conjured roses out of nowhere.

He really had to get out of the desert.

"I can apparate us to Turkey tonight. There, I know a couple that owes me a few favors. I'm pretty sure we can rest there for the night and start travelling in the morning. If all goes to plan, we should be back in England in five days or so," he stated in a firm tone. He noticed he was still holding onto her wrist and finally slipped his hand from her small form. He thought he heard the tiniest of whimpers coming from her at the loss of contact but resigned himself that he must've imagined it.

"International apparition… Are you sure… ?" she voiced her concern without any other words.

"You're the one with the broken wrist Granger, let me take care of this."

She raised an eyebrow at him and scrunched her face at him. "You called me Granger just now. What's it going to be?"

He chuckled and took hold of her hand once more. "Whatever suits my fancy, I guess. Old habits die hard."

She laughed along with him and made to take his other hand in her free one. International Apparition took a lot of energy, that she knew from her past escapades with Jackson and the rest of her partners, but she wanted to make this as easy as she could on Draco. He must be as tired as she was right now.

A second later, the two were whirling away through the night after a _pop_ was heard in the now dark desert.

* * *

><p>"But Malfoy, we just went past two hospitals! How more long do we have to go?" Hermione childishly moaned. They had been walking through the streets of Ankara, Turkey for the past half hour and Draco had yet to bring them to their destination.<p>

"I'm pretty sure it's just a few more corners," he replied, his face scrunched in concentration. He was looking around at all the apartment buildings and couldn't help but feel dizzy after their apparition. Popping away some 2500 kilometres was a feat he had pulled off recently and he wouldn't admit it to Hermione, but he wasn't feeling as well as he had been earlier.

Hermione stopped all too abruptly and pulled on the hand that was still linked with Malfoy's. They wanted to be sure they wouldn't lose each other in the streets of an unknown city, at least to her, and so they hadn't let go since apparating there.

_Surely not because of the warmth and re-assurance he procures you, isn't it, _a small voice inside her head said aloud. She rolled her eyes at her conscience and squeezed Malfoy's hand harder.

"Don't kill my hand, woman! And don't worry, I'm sure we've just about reached the right street …"

A bright light came on to the left of them and both were blinded by the sudden ray. They narrowed their eyes at the sudden display and tried to adjust their eyesight.

"_Kim var? Sen kimsin?" _a voice bellowed a few feet ahead of them.

Draco took a few steps forward, Hermione trailing behind as she kept a firm grasp on his hands.

"Efe?" he asked towards the light.

The outline of a very masculine figure stepped out from the light that had just been turned on. "_Malfoy?_ What are you doing here, old _dost_?"

Draco let go of Hermione hand and quickly stepped towards the man. In a few strides, he had joined the other man and now stood in a manly embrace. The small witch looked at the scene in surprise, unknowingly raising her eyebrows at the display in front of her.

"_Efe, orada ne yapiyorsun?_" came another voice, this one feminine, from the doorway.

Both Draco and Hermione looked up at the sound of the new voice, the only difference was Draco stood smiling widely and Hermione scowled at the beauty that stood before her.

"Ayla!" Draco exclaimed as he made to get up the stairs and embrace the newcomer.

Hermione still stood on the street, not understanding in the least what was happening. She had grasped at the fact maybe this was the couple that owed Draco a favor, but really, did they all have to ignore her for the time being?

She coughed once. Twice.

Draco and _Ayla _were still engaged in deep conversation, having separated from their hug moments earlier.

The two people were absolutely, drop dead gorgeous, if Hermione was anywhere near concerned. Both had dark skin and dark hair but the woman's eyes were light and golden, as if tiny specks of lights came out from her irises whereas the man had next to black eyes. They also seemed very fit and strongly built, Ayla more feminine than her counterpart, but they wore garments than accentuated their own frames in an overly nice way.

Hermione looked down at herself after giving the newcomers a onceover and felt she didn't fit in. He black outfit was rugged from their earlier walk that day and sand was plastered all over her face. Even Draco, that seemed to radiate with happiness at being reunited with old friend, seemed at ease in their surroundings.

"Hermione?" Draco's voice shook her out of her daze.

"What?" she answered more forcefully than she meant.

He looked at her in confusion and finally shook his head, stepping down and reaching for her hand once more.

_Why all touchy-touchy all of a sudden? _She asked herself. What was the meaning of their partnership anymore?

Hermione dropped her own questions and let herself be dragged into the house by Draco, followed behind by Efe.

"I'd like you to meet some old friends, Efe and Ayla."

"Very nice to meet you," she answered in a robotic voice.

"Such a beautiful _kari,_ Draco!" Ayla said as she ushered them into their home. As soon as the door closed, the light from the outside shut off and the four of them stood awkwardly in the entrance of the small house.

"Oh, she's not my _kari, _Ayla. She's my partner," Draco replied to the beautiful woman. Her husband chuckled beside her and stretched an arm over her shoulder.

Hermione still didn't fully understand what was transpiring between the three but she knew her wrist was still broken and hurting and her patience was starting to wear thin. She coughed loudly again, trying to get Draco's attention.

"Right, um," Draco started as he caught sight of Hermione's serious gaze. "Ayla, Efe, we need your help. Long story short, my partner's wrist is broken and we need a place to stay the night. Any change you could …?"

Efe clapped his hands together and slammed his hand on Draco's back. The latter coughed, having expected a lighter blow to his back. "Of course, Draco. Anything for you, _dost!"_

Hermione looked up to the ceiling, praying the higher deities to make her get through the night without fully understanding the foreign language.

Ayla moved towards her suddenly and grasped her by her unbroken wrist._ "_Come, my dear. We're going to nurse you right back to health." She said to Hermione in a melodic voice.

Were they the equivalent of Turkish Veelas? They seemed to have magical powers of their own, just commanding anyone with that sweet tone of theirs. Hermione was pretty sure she'd follow any of their orders right now, or was it because of her rough day?

As the other woman grabbed hold of her, Hermione turned around and looked at Draco for a confirmation that she wasn't headed to the Hells. He smiled that charming smile of his and Hermione's fears all but melted away.

She couldn't help but to wonder, since when did she trust Draco's judgment?

Maybe since he had saved her from a run-in with a deadly Arab group?

She shook her head and let Ayla lead her through her small home, up the stairs and to the second level of the house. They turned a corner and they came through a small room, a cot located in the middle of it.

"Lay down, please," Ayla urged her on.

Hermione did as she was told and made to lie down on the small bed. The tried to remain awake as much as possible as the mattress underneath her fell back with her weight, the soft material digging up under her back. _Gods, I haven't felt this tired in years. _

The other woman crept closer to her and Hermione was surprised when she whipped out a wand. She hadn't thought to ask Draco if this couple had been magical of not. Thinking back again, she wasn't surprised that they were wizards, as she reminded herself of Draco's past alliances.

_Stop thinking of him in that way. Hasn't he proved himself to be changed enough already?_ Her conscience sounded deep in the back of her mind. Closing her eyes, she willed herself to forget all about today's events and concentrated on Ayla's soft ministrations to her wrist. She whispered a few words in her native tongue and Hermione felt herself being slowly lulled to sleep.

* * *

><p>"<em>Dost,<em> you seem to have found yourself in grave trouble. Am I right?" Efe asked his old friend.

Draco sat in front of him at the small table in the kitchen. Glasses of whiskey had been filled and now stood between them on the table. The blond wizard drummed his fingers on the side of his glass, thinking to himself what would be the best way to explain the situation he was in.

"Far more than I previously thought, Efe," he replied.

His friend shook his head and downed his own glass, promptly refilling it as he set it back on the table. Draco raised his eyes and looked at him, all the while emptying his own whiskey. He pushed the glass towards Efe, silently asking for his own refill, which his friend gladly gave him.

"Your _kari _has been put to sleep, Draco. Her wrist has been mended and she will sleep through morning, until her body gains back enough energy," Ayla stated as she entered the kitchen. She made her way silently towards the cupboard, where she took her own glass out and waved for her husband to fill it.

"I told you, she is not my _kari",_ Draco responded, his tone slightly raising.

Ayla only chuckled and smiled at him. "Dear friend, the way you look at her, it is as you are meant to be. You might not see it yet, but I do." She gracefully took a sip from her glass, tipped it towards the two men and left the room in haste.

Draco looked towards his other friend and silently dared him to agree with his wife.

"I am not taking sides in this battle," Efe replied with a laugh. "Maybe you should go to sleep to Draco. You look like hell."

"Oh, thanks," he answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

True, he'd had a long day. But he wouldn't rest peacefully until he knew Hermione was fully back to health. He silently followed his friend towards their living room and thanked him when the couch was charmed into a small bed. It wasn't the luxury he was used to, but it would do for the night.

"Thank you Efe. You've helped me more than you could even know."

"I owed you Draco."

"No. You didn't owe me. You _chose _to help me."

Efe only smiled and finally left the room, leaving Draco to his peace and quiet. The wizard took off his clothes and settled into the small bed, waving around a few minutes under the covers before sleep took a hold of him.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note : YAY! Another chapter done!<strong>

_**Rough translations : **_

_**Kari : **_**Wife, girlfriend, love oned (Turkish)**

_**Dost : **_**Friend (Turkish)**

**Roughly, the sentences that Ayla and Efe had said when Draco and Hermione were on the threshold of their house what "Who are you? Who's out there?" and "Efe, what are you doing out there?" **

**Holy crap, I wrote this chapter in a few hours. I've to say, I don't know where the inspiration came from but what I DO know is that my shoulders are killing me and I'm going to sleep it off (as Hermione and Draco are doing) before writing another chapter!**

**Slow chapter but let me know where you think this is going in the reviews below!**

**Xx**


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